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PALEOPATHOLOGY 


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Frontispiece 


FRONTISPIECE 


A reconstruction  depicting  a prehistoric  surgical  operation.  The  drawing, 
based  on  actual  material  and  photographs  of  the  region,  represents  a primitive 
blanket-clad  shaman  using  the  cautery  in  the  highlands  of  Peru.  The  patient  is  a 
woman  supposed  to  be  suffering  from  melancholia,  for  which  the  treatment,  as 
judged  from  the  skeletal  remains  and  from  analogy  with  modern  primitive  practices, 
was  to  incise  the  scalp  in  a cruciate  incision  and  into  this  open  cut  place  the  oil 
which  is  bubbling  on  the  slow  fixe  in  an  appropriate  medicine-man’s  jar,  with  the 
wisp  of  twisted  fiber  lying  nearby.  The  operator  has  in  his  cheek  a quid  of  coca 
leaves  which  he  will  apply  to  the  wound  to  ease  the  patient’s  distress.  The  wound 
became  violently  infected  and  made  a huge  osseous  lesion  on  the  woman’s  skuU 
which  is  fuUy  described  in  Chapter  XV,  and  shown  in  Figure  49  and  Plates  CIV-CV. 


PALEOPATHOLOGY 


AN  INTRODUCTION  TO  THE  STUDY 
OF  ANCIENT  EVIDENCES  OF  DISEASE 


BY 


Roy  L.  Moodie,  Ph.D. 

Associate  Professor  of  Anatomy  in  the 
University  of  Illinois 


University  of  Illinois  Press 
Urbana,  Illinois 
1923 


g/  ??  5 


Copyright,  1923,  by  the 
UNn'EESITY  OF  ILLINOIS  PRESS 


01)f  ffioUrgiate  ^rtee 

GEORGE  BANTA  PUBLISHING  COMPANY 
MENASHA,  WISCONSIN 


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DEDICATED 

to 

SIR  MARC  ARMAND  RUFFER 

Who  devoted  himself  to  the  advancement  of  knowledge  and  sacrificed  his  life 
in  the  cause  of  human  freedom 


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■ ■ ■■■■:■; 


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PREFACE 


The  origin  and  development  of  disease  may  be  traced  to  some 
extent  from  the  pathological  lesions  found  on  the  fossil  bones  of  the 
ancient  races  of  man  and  extinct  animals,  as  well  as  from  the  associa- 
tions of  early  animals  of  the  Paleozoic.  The  details  of  the  evidences 
for  such  a statement,  based  on  an  extended  study  of  fossil  lesions 
particularly,  and  a careful  review  of  the  pathology  of  early  man  as 
described  by  the  students  of  anthropology,  and  represented  in  various 
collections,^  are  given  in  this  volume. 

The  studies  of  Sir  Marc  Armand  Ruffer,  to  whom  this  work  is 
dedicated,  on  the  pathology  of  ancient  Egyptian  mummies  forms  the 
groundwork  of  the  science  of  Paleopathology,  and  I have  only  added 
to  what  he  and  his  co-workers  discovered  by  extending  the  subject 
to  include  the  diseases  of  very  ancient  animals.  A full  account  of  Puf- 
fer’s studies  is  to  be  found  in  Chapter  XIII. 

The  method  of  treatment  in  general  has  been  to  follow  the  succes- 
sion of  evidences  seen  in  the  geologic  record.  Thus  the  present  account 
of  the  history  of  disease  properly  begins  with  the  early  Paleozoic  or 
Proterozoic,  100,000,000  or  more  years  ago,^  and  ends  with  the  recent 
period.  No  records  contained  in  the  usual  works  on  medical  history 
are  introduced  and  the  attempt  has  been  made  to  confine  our  attention 
chiefly  to  events  prior  to  600  b.  c.  This  has  not  been  entirely  possible 
since  many  of  the  peoples  studied  by  Ruffer  are  of  much  later  date, 
and  all  of  the  pathology  of  the  North  and  South  American  Indians  is 
properly  assigned  to  the  Christian  Era.  The  present  work  together 
with  the  data  in  August  Hirsch’s  Handbook  of  Geographical  and 
Historical  Pathology  contains  records  from  the  beginnings  of  disease  in 
geological  time  down  to  about  1875  a.  d. 

These  studies  may  be  regarded  as  a synthesis  of  medical  history, 
paleontology,  and  anthropology;  the  chief  merit  being  the  account  of 
the  pathology  of  fossil  animals  which  are  here  given  in  complete  form 
for  the  first  time,  although  previous  brief  accounts  have  been  published. 


* I have  been  enabled  to  visit  and  examine  the  collections  in  Harvard  University,  American 
Museum  of  Natural  History,  Yale  University,  and  the  National  Museum  through  a grant  from 
the  Research  Committee  of  the  American  Medical  Association. 

’ This  is  the  more  conservative  of  the  estimates  of  the  duration  of  geologic  time,  an 
account  of  which  is  given  on  pages  77-78. 


9 


10 


PALEOPATHOLOGY 


The  attempt  to  ally  the  study  of  the  diseases  of  ancient  animals 
with  medical  history  is  based  on  the  assumption  that  disease  as  a mani- 
festation of  life  is  the  same  whether  seen  in  man  or  animals.  It  is  hoped 
that  the  details  of  ancient  pathological  lesions  may  aid  in  an  under- 
standing of  the  nature  of  disease. 

The  antiquity  of  disease  and  the  early  breaking  down  of  the  natural 
immunity  which  had  protected  the  first  races  of  animals  is  an  interesting 
addition  to  our  knowledge  of  disease.  That  early  man  may  have 
acquired  some  of  his  diseases  from  the  coexisting  animals  may  be  seen 
from  the  fact  that  the  men  of  the  old  stone  age,  the  cave  bears,  and 
other  cave-inhabiting  animals  were  often  afflicted  with  the  same  mala- 
dies, attested  by  the  osseous  lesions  on  their  numerous  remains. 

The  problem  of  the  extinction  of  great  groups  of  animals  is  still  one 
of  the  unsolved  problems  of  paleontology.  It  was  in  the  hope  of  offering 
definite  data  on  the  part  disease  has  played  in  the  extinction  of  verte- 
brate groups  particularly  that  the  study  of  the  pathological  lesions 
found  on  fossil  bones  was  undertaken. 

The  lesions  of  fossil  animals  so  far  studied  are  the  results  of  acci- 
dents, or  of  infections  and  none  of  them  are  extensive.  It  is  improbable 
that  any  of  the  lesions  so  far  studied  were  so  severe  that  the  life  of  the 
individual  was  endangered.  Certainly  no  known  ancient  diseases  were 
of  sufficient  virulence  to  have  endangered  the  fife  of  the  race.  Disease 
probably  has  been  an  important  factor  in  the  extinction  of  animals 
but  the  lesions  which  are  to  be  found  on  the  fossil  bones  can  not  be 
regarded  as  sufficiently  severe  to  have  produced  widespread  extinction, 
such  as  occurred  many  times  in  the  history  of  the  vertebrates.  It  must 
be  remembered,  however,  that  few  of  the  diseases  which  today  produce 
widespread  epidemics  are  of  such  nature  as  to  affect  the  skeleton, 
and  paleopathology  is  essentially  a study  of  the  pathological  changes 
in  the  bones. 

The  present  results  of  the  study  of  fossil  pathology'  indicate  the 
early  appearance  in  geological  time  and  the  widespread  distribution  of 
diseases  of  many  kinds.  Most  of  the  ancient  diseases  are  to  be  regarded 
as  chronic,  infectious,  or  constitutional  diseases  which  occasionally 
caused  considerable  trouble  to  the  individual  afflicted  but  could  not 
have  been  of  great  importance  to  the  species.  The  important  fact  is 
that  disease  was  present  millions  of  years  ago  and  the  evidences  of  its 
persistence  are  to  be  found  in  all  geological  periods  from  the  Ordo- 
vician down  to  the  present  time. 


PREFACE 


11 


Fossil  bones  exhibiting  pathological  lesions  are  fairly  common  in 
the  collections  of  fossil  vertebrates  in  America  and  Europe.  The  speci- 
mens, on  which  the  following  accounts  of  the  most  ancient  diseases  are 
based,  have  been  studied  in  a number  of  American  institutions,  and 
several  individuals  have  either  given  or  loaned  interesting  specimens. 
The  material  in  European  institutions  has  been  studied  only  through 
the  literature. 

Mr.  H.  T.  Martin,  at  the  University  of  Kansas,  has  given  the  use  of 
a large  number  of  specimens,  representing  the  mosasaurs  and  dinosaurs. 
Mr.  E.  S.  Riggs,  of  the  Field  Museum  of  Natural  History,  has  loaned 
material  for  study.  The  fractured  and  healed  dinosaur  rib,  and  the 
fractured  tibia  and  fibula  of  an  early  carnivore  are  in  his  collections. 
Dr.  S.  W.  Williston,  late  director  of  the  Walker  Museum,  University  of 
Chicago,  has  loaned  the  interesting  radius  of  a Permian  reptile  showing 
the  type  of  ancient  fracture.  Dr.  E.  C.  Case,  of  the  University  of 
Michigan,  has  loaned  additional  material  from  the  Permian.  Dr.  R.  S. 
Lull,  of  Yale  University,  has  assisted  in  the  study  of  the  numerous  le- 
sions contained  in  the  Marsh  collection  of  fossil  vertebrates  by  photo- 
graphs and  advice.  At  the  American  Museum  of  Natural  History 
material  of  all  kinds  has  been  placed  at  my  disposal  and  I am  indebted 
to  Dr.  W.  D.  Matthew  and  Dr.  W.  K.  Gregory  for  photographs.  Dr. 
John  M.  Armstrong  of  St.  Paul,  Minnesota,  presented  the  specimens  of 
mosasaur  vertebrae  on  which  is  preserved  the  unique  osteoma.  Mr. 
Harold  Cook  has  loaned  interesting  fossil  mammals. 

Dr.  C.  D.  Walcott,  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution,  has  furnished 
the  figures  of  the  oldest  known  bacteria,  and  the  material  for  Plates  I- 
V.  Dr.  Charles  Schuchert,  of  Yale  University,  has  suggested  the 
theoretical  aspects  of  Paleopathology.  Dr.  R.  S.  Bassler,  of  the  U.  S. 
National  Museum,  furnished  a photograph  of  the  earliest  tsetse  fly, 
and  has  criticised  the  work  on  crinoid  tumors.  Dr.  John  C.  Merriam, 
of  the  Carnegie  Institution  of  Washington,  has  furnished  data  on  the 
pathology  of  the  Rancho  la  Brea  fauna.  Dr.  Ales  Hrdlicka,  of  the  U.  S. 
National  Museum,  has  guided  the  search  for  pathological  lesions  among 
the  early  North  American  Indians,  and  has  read  most  of  the  manu- 
script of  those  parts  of  the  work  dealing  with  ancient  human  races. 
Dr.  Edward  W.  Berry,  paleobotanist  at  Johns  Hopkins  University, 
has  written  the  chapter  on  Paleophytopathology,  Chapter  HI.  Al- 
though the  work  in  the  book  is  a combination  of  all  materials  available, 
I am  solely  responsible  for  their  arrangement  and  expression. 


12 


PALEOPATHOLOGY 


Since  I have  been  trained  chiefly  in  vertebrate  paleontology,  and 
have  no  extensive  acquaintance  with  modern  pathology  I have  relied 
for  advice  and  help  on  pathological  questions  on  my  colleagues  of  the 
Department  of  Bacteriology  and  Pathology,  University  of  Illinois. 
This  advice  and  help  have  been  cheerfully  given  at  all  times,  and  I have 
had  complete  access  to  the  pathological  collection  in  their  charge. 

The  illustrations  throughout  the  book  are  largely  the  work  of  Mr. 
Willard  C.  Shepard,  Mr.  Tom  Jones,  and  Miss  Genevieve  Meakin. 
Acknowledgment  of  other  figures  is  given  in  each  case.  The  frontis- 
piece is  published  through  the  courtesy  of  W.  B.  Saunders  Company. 

Roy  L.  Moodie 

Department  of  Anatomy 
University  of  Illinois,  Chicago 
July  1,  1922. 


TABLE  OF  CONTENTS 


PAGE 

Preface 9 

List  of  Illustrations 18 

INTRODUCTION 

Definition  and  Scope  of  Paleopathology 21 

Paleontological  Evidences 25 

Definition  of  Disease,  as  Used  in  This  Work 29 

Evidences  of  Disease  among  Fossil  Plants 29 

Apparent  Immunity  of  Early  Paleozoic  Animals  to  Infectious  Diseases 30 

Regeneration 32 

Immunity  in  Modern  Invertebrates 34 

The  Origin  of  Disease 35 

Increase  of  Disease  in  Geological  Time 36 

Table  of  Geological  Evidences 38 

Descriptions  of  Figures  1-4  and  Plates  I-VII  illustrating  the  Introduction..  . 41 

Figures  1-4  and  Plates  I-VU  following  page 41 

CHAPTER  I 

The  Development  of  Paleopathology 

Historical  Account  of  Studies  on  Ancient  Diseases 61 

Tabular  Review  of  Literature  Dealing  with  Paleopathology 72 

Nature  of  Ancient  Diseases 75 

Persistence  of  Certain  Types  of  Disease 75 

Tabulation  of  the  Antiquity  of  Certain  Pathological  Processes 76 

Measurement  of  Geologic  Time 77 

Descriptions  of  Figures  5-7  and  Plates  VIII-X  illustrating  Chapter  1 79 

Figures  5-7  and  Plates  \TII-X  following  page 79 

CHAPTER  II 
The  Origin  of  Disease 

Speculations  as  to  the  Antiquity  of  Disease 91 

Geological  Beginnings  of  Disease 92 

Tabulation  of  All  Geological  Evidences 92 

Lesions  of  Parasitism  Among  Paleozoic  Animals 96 

Pathology  of  the  Early  Fishes,  Amphibians,  and  Reptiles 97 

CHAPTER  III 

Pathological  Conditions  Among  Fossil  Plants 
By  Edward  W.  Berry,  Johns  Hopkins  University 

Introduction 99 

Extinction 99 

Parasitism 101 

Callus  and  Injury 101 


13 


14 


PALEOPATHOLOGY 


PAGE 

Fossil  Fungi 103 

Bacterial  Activity 103 

Spot  Fungi 104 

Activities  of  Insects 106 

Teratology 107 

Descriptions  of  Plates  XI-XIII  illustrating  Chapters  II  and  III 109 

Plates  XI-XIII  following  page 109 

CHAPTER  IV 

Callus  and  Fracture  in  Fossil  Vertebrates 

The  Oldest  Known  Fractures 116 

Histology  of  Permian  Fractures 118 

A Triassic  Fracture 121 

Fracture  and  Callus  in  the  Dinosaurs 122 

Fractures  Among  the  Early  Mammals 124 

Fractures  Among  the  Pleistocene  Mammalia 126 

Fractures  in  the  American  Bison 129 

Descriptions  of  Figures  8-10  and  Plates  XIV-XXVI  illustrating  Chapter  IV.  131 
Figures  8-10  and  Plates  XIV-XXVI  following  page 131 

CHAPTER  V 

Deforming  Arthritides  in  the  Early  Vertebrates 

Arthritic  Lesions  in  the  Dinosaurs 161 

Spondylitis  Deformans  in  the  Dinosaurs 164 

The  Fossilization  of  Blood  Corpuscles 165 

Arthritides  in  the  Mosasaurs 169 

Osteomata  Among  Modern  Vertebrates 171 

Multiple  Arthritis  in  a Mosasaur 171 

Cretaceous  Osteoperiostitis  with  Arthritic  Lesions 172 

History  of  Spondylitis  Deformans 173 

Spondylitis  Deformans  in  Eocene  Mammals 174 

Spondylitis  Deformans  in  a Miocene  Crocodile 174 

Spondylitis  Deformans  in  a Pliocene  Camel 175 

Spondylitis  Deformans  among  Pleistocene  Mammals 176 

Descriptions  of  Figures  11-18  and  Plates  XXVII-XLIII  illustrating  Chapter 

V 179 

Figures  11-18  and  Plates  XXVII-XLIII  following  page 179 

CHAPTER  VI 

Caries  and  Alveol.ar  Osteitis  Among  Fossil  Vertebrates 

Caries  in  Permian  Vertebrates 222 

Dental  Disturbances  Among  Extinct  Reptiles  and  Mammals ‘ . 222 

Caries  in  the  Mastodon 224 

An  Abscess  in  the  Mastodon 224 

Dental  Caries  in  the  Mastodon 225 

Premaxillary  Lesion  in  an  African  Gorilla 229 

Descriptions  of  Figures  19-22  and  Plates  XLIV-XLVI  illustrating  Chapter  VI  231 
Figures  19-22  and  Plates  XLIV-XLVI  following  page 231 

CHAPTER  Vn 

Chronic  Infections  Among  Fossil  Vertebrates 

Osteomyelitis  in  the  Permian 244 

Necroses  and  Hyperostoses  in  the  Dinosaurs 245 


CONTENTS 


15 


PAGE 

A Large  Necrotic  Sinus  in  a Mosasaur 246 

A Symmetrical  Lesion  in  an  Early  Dog 246 

Mesozoic  Pathology 247 

Actinomycosis  in  a Fossil  Rhinoceros 249 

Hyperostoses  or  Pachyostoses  (Giantism)  in  Ancient  Anim.als 251 

Osteomalacia  in  an  Eocene  Carnivore 252 

Traumatic  Lesions  and  Other  Pathology  of  the  Pleistocene  Mammals 253 

Skeletal  Anomalies  Among  Fossil  Vertebrates 254 

Descriptions  of  Figures  23-25  and  Plates  XLVII-LVIII  illustrating  Chapter 

VII 255 

Figures  23-25  and  Plates  XLVII-LVIII  following  page 255 

CHAPTER  VHI 

Parasitism  Among  Fossil  Animals 

The  Origin  of  Parasitism 283 

Symbiosis  Among  Fossil  Animals 284 

Parasitism  of  Carboniferous  Crinoids 285 

Theoretical  Aspects  of  Paleopathology 287 

A Case  of  Pleistocene  Parasitism 288 

CHAPTER  IX 

The  Bacteriology  of  Past  Geological  Ages 

The  Oldest  Bacteria 290 

Bacteria  and  Thread-mould  in  the  Devonian 291 

Bacteria  of  the  Coal  and  Other  Fossil  Bacteria 294 

Coprolites  of  the  Autun  Schists . , t 295 

Bacteria  of  the  Coprolites 295 

Fossil  Bacteria  Analogous  to  Those  Which  Produce  Dental  Caries 300 

Bacteria  in  the  American  Permian 303 

Microscopic  Observations  on  Coprolites  from  the  American  Permian 304 

Descriptions  of  Figure  26  and  Plates  LIX-LXV  illustrating  Chapters  VIII 

and  IX 307 

Figure  26  and  Plates  LIX-LXV  following  page 307 

CHAPTER  X 

Opisthotonos  and  Allied  Phenomena  Among  Fossil  Vertebrates 

Frequency  of  Opisthotonos  among  Fossil  Vertebrates 324 

Opisthotonos  among  Pterodactyls 325 

The  Opisthotonic  Attitude  among  Ancient  Birds  and  Dinosaurs 326 

Pleurothotonos 327 

Phenomena  among  Fossil  Fishes 328 

Opisthotonos  in  Man 329 

Phenomena  as  Manifestations  of  Disease 330 

Summary 332 

Descriptions  of  Figure  27  and  Plates  LXVI-LXVIII  illustrating  Chapter  X.  . 333 

Figure  27  and  Plates  LXVI-LXVIII  foUowing  page 333 

CHAPTER  XI 
The  Extinction  of  Races 

Disease  as  a Factor  in  Extinction 342 

The  Influence  of  Diseases  of  the  Skeleton  in  the  Extinction  of  Races 344 

Pathology  of  the  American  Mastodon 344 


16  PALEOPATHOLOGY 


PAGE 

■ CHAPTER  XII 

Pathology  of  the  Early  Human  Races 

Pathological  Femur  of  Pithecanthropus 347 

Pathology  of  the  Men  of  the  Old  Stone  Age  (Paleolithic) 348 

Neolithic  Injuries 349 

Evidences  of  Syphilis  among  Ancient  Men 353 

Prehistoric  Trephining 356 

The  Use  of  the  Cautery  among  Neolithic  and  Later  Primitive  Peoples  as  a 

Cause  of  Skull  Lesions 358 

The  Amputation  of  Fingers  among  Primitive  Races 361 

Descriptions  of  Figures  28-35  and  Plates  LXIX-LXXIII  illustrating  Chap- 
ters XI  and  XII 365 

Figures  28-35  and  Plates  LXIX-LXXIII  following  page 365 


CHAPTER  XIII 

Diseases  of  the  Ancient  Egyptians 

Biographical  Sketch  of  Sir  Marc  Armand  Ruffer 387 

Diseases  of  the  Ancient  Egyptians 388 

Chronological  Table  of  Kings  of  Egypt 389 

Arteriosclerosis  in  the  Aorta  of  the  Pharaoh  of  the  Exodus 392 

Other  Arterial  Lesions  among  Early  Egyptians 393 

Histological  Studies  on  Egyptian  Mummies 395 

An  Eruption  Resembling  Smallpox 395 

Vesical  Calculus 396 

Early  Evidences  of  Schistosomiasis 396 

Rickets  in  Ancient  Egypt 397 

Appendicitis 398 

Symmetric  Osteoporosis  of  the  Skull 398 

Prolapsus  Viscerum 400 

Hydrocephalus  in  Early  Egypt 401 

A Psoas  Abscess 402 

A Pelvic  Osteosarcoma 402 

Osseous  Lesions  in  Early  Egyptians 403 

Poliomyelitis 408 

Trephining  in  Egypt 409 

Lesions  in  the  Mummified  Animals  of  Egypt 410 

Syphilis  in  Egypt 411 

Descriptions  of  Figures  36-41  and  Plates  LXXIV-LXXXVH  illustrating 

Chapter  XIII 413 

Figures  36-41  and  Plates  LXXIV-LXXXVII  foUowing  page 413 


CHAPTER  XIV 

Disease  Among  the  Pre-Columbian  Indians  of  North  America 

Evidence  of  Pathology  among  American  Aborigines 452 

Knowledge  of  Surgery 453 

Descriptions  of  Figures  42-45  and  Plates  LXXXVHI-XCVH  illustrating 

Chapter  XIV 457 

Figures  42-45  and  Plates  LXXXVIII-XCVII  following  page 457 


CONTENTS  17 

PAGE 

CHAPTER  XV 

Diseases  of  the  Ancient  Peruvians 

Uta,  as  Depicted  on  Ancient  Water  Jars 489 

Trephining  in  South  America 490 

Diseases  of  the  Teeth 492  ^ 

Descriptions  of  Figures  46-49  and  Plates  XCVIII-CXVII  illustrating  Chap- 
ter XV 495 

Figures  46-49  and  Plates  XCVIII-CXVII  following  page 495 

BIBLIOGRAPHY 543 

INDEX 559 


LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS 

PAGE 

Frontispiece — Reconstruction  of  a Prehistoric  Surgical  Operation facing  3 

Figure  1.  Pre-Cambrian  Bacteria 42 

Figure  2.  Graph  showing  Increase  of  Disease 44 

Figure  3.  Paleozoic  Examples  of  Pathology 44 

Figure  4.  Geological  Diagram 46 

Figure  5.  Fractured  Femur  of  Cave-bear 80 

Figure  6.  Cuvier 82 

Figure  7.  Virchow,  von  Walther  and  Zittel 84 

Figure  8.  A Long-spined  Permian  Reptile,  Edaphosaurus 132 

Figure  9.  Restoration  of  a Three-horned  Dinosaur,  Triceratops 134 

Figure  10.  Restoration  of  Moropus 134 

Figure  11.  Fracture  of  Mastodon  Rib 180 

Figure  12.  Normal  Dinosaur  Vertebrae 180 

Figure  13.  Restoration  of  Dinosaur  with  Nervous  System 180 

Figure  14.  Sawn  Section  of  Fossil  Hemangioma 182 

Figure  15.  Spondylitis  Deformans  in  Tail  of  Diplodocus 182 

Figure  16.  Restoration  of  Mosasaur 184 

Figure  17.  Chalk-cliffs  of  Western  Kansas 186 

Figure  18.  Normal  Arm  of  a Mosasaur 186 

Figure  19.  Diseased  Molar  of  Recent  Horse 232 

Figure  20.  Joseph  Leidy 234 

Figure  21.  Median  Section  of  a Diseased  Whale’s  Tooth 236 

Figure  22.  Diseased  Camel  Incisor 236 

Figure  23.  Skeleton  of  Camptosaurus 256 

Figure  24.  Actinomycosis  in  a Pliocene  Rhinoceros 258 

Figure  25.  Diseased  Vertebra  of  a Saber-tooth  Cat 258 

Figure  26.  Crinoids  and  Starfish 308 

Figure  27.  Stenomylus  Hill 334 

Figure  28.  Distribution  of  Trypanosomiases 366 

Figure  29.  Distribution  of  Trephining  throughout  the  World 368 

Figure  30.  Relations  of  Early  Human  Types 370 

Figure  31.  Schemata  of  Scalp  Incisions 372 

Figure  32.  Map  of  Neolithic  and  Recent  Trephining 372 

Figure  33.  Silhouettes  of  Hands 374 

Figure  34.  Mutilated  Hands  of  a Bushman 374 

Figure  35.  Primitive  Scarification 376 

Figure  36.  Sir  Marc  Armand  Ruffer 414 

Figure  37.  Louis  Charles  Lortet 416 

Figure  38.  Map  of  Egypt.  . 418 

Figure  39.  Osteoporosis 420 

Figure  40.  Pott’s  Disease 422 

Figure  41.  An  Ancient  Flint  Knife 422 

Figure  42.  Pathology  of  pre-Columbian  Times 458 

Figure  43.  Primitive  Surgical  Appliances 460 


18 


ILLUSTRATIONS 


19 


PAGE 

Figure  44.  A Bark  Orthopedic  Corset .facing  462 

Figure  45.  Distribution  of  North  American  Indian  Tribes 464 

Figure  46.  The  Empire  of  the  Incas 496 

Figure  47.  Goundou 498 

Figure  48.  Relation  of  Tribes  in  North  and  South  America 500 

Figure  49.  The  Effects  of  the  Actual  Cautery  in  Ancient  Times 502 

Plate  I.  Middle  Cambrian  Annulata 48 

Plate  II.  Middle  Cambrian  Crustaceans 50 

Plate  III.  Lower  Cambrian  Trilobites 52 

Plate  IV.  Cambrian  Brachiopods 54 

Plate  V.  Middle  Cambrian  Medusa  and  Holothurian 56 

Plate  VI.  Miocene  Normal  and  Pathologic  Clams 58 

Plate  VII.  Photomicrographs  of  Clam  Shells 60 

Plate  VIII.  Pathologic  Pleistocene  Mammals 86 

Plate  IX.  Traumatisms  among  Fossil  Reptiles 88 

Plate  X.  Mesozoic  Pathology 90 

Plate  XI.  Paleozoic  Examples  of  Parasitism 110 

Plate  XII.  Fossil  Plants 112 

Plate  XIII.  Diseased  Fossil  Leaves 114 

Plate  XIV.  The  Oldest  Known  Fractures 136 

Plate  XV.  Permian  Pathology 138 

Plate  XVI.  Histology  of  Permian  Callus 140 

Plates  XVII-XIX.  Photomicrographs  of  Ancient  Callus  and  Fracture 142-146 

Plate  XX.  Skeleton  of  Titanotherium,  with  Fractured  Rib 148 

Plate  XXI.  Sections  of  a Permian  Osteomyelitis 150 

Plate  XXII.  Fractures  in  Moropus 152 

Plate  XXIII.  Traumatic  Lesions  in  Dinosaurs  and  in  a Mammal 154 

Plate  XXIV.  Fracture  with  Pseudarthrosis  in  the  American  Bison  ....  156 

Plate  XXV.  Fracture  in  the  American  Mastodon 158 

Plate  XXVI.  Fracture  and  Necrosis  in  Ancient  Reptiles  and  the  Muskox  160 

Plate  XXVII.  Distinguished  Paleontologists 188 

Plate  XXVIII.  Fossil  Reptiles 190 

Plate  XXIX.  Deforming  Arthritides  in  the  Dinosaurs 192 

Plate  XXX.  A Fossil  Hemangioma 194 

Plate  XXXI.  Microscopic  Study  of  Fossil  Tumor 196 

Plate  XXXII.  Histology  of  Dinosaur  Bone 198 

Plate  XXXIII.  Histology  of  Fossil  Hemangioma 200 

Plate  XXXIV.  Cretaceous  Osteoperiostitis 202 

Plate  XXXV.  The  Oldest  Known  Fibers  of  Sharpey 204 

Plate  XXXVI.  Microscopic  Study  of  Fossil  Lesion 206 

Plate  XXXVII.  Nature  of  Fossil  Perforating  Fibers 208 

Plate  XXXVIII.  Histology  of  Mosasaur  Bone 210 

Plate  XXXIX.  A Cretaceous  Osteoma 212 

Plate  XL.  A Sawn  Section  through  a Fossil  Osteoma 214 

Plate  XLI.  Multiple  Arthritis 216 

Plate  XLII.  Pleistocene  Pathology 218 

Plate  XLIII.  History  of  Spondylitis  Deformans 220 

Plate  XLIV.  Pathology  of  a Three-toed  Horse 238 

Plate  XLV.  An  Anomalous  Mastodon  Molar 240 

Plate  XL VI.  Pathology  of  Teeth 242 

Plate  XLVII.  Famous  Fossil  Beds 260 

Plate  XL VIII.  Mesozoic  Pathology 262 


20 


PALEOPATHOLOGY 


PAGE 

Plate  XLIX.  A Cretaceous  Necrosis facing  264 

Plate  L.  Pathology  in  Two  Dinosaurs 266 

Plate  LI.  Eocene  Osteomalacia 268 

Plate  LII.  Ancient  Chronic  Infections 270 

Plate  LIII.  Pathology  in  Fossil  Mammals 272 

Plate  LIV.  Pleistocene  Pathology 274 

Plate  LV.  Pleistocene  Osteoperiostitis 276 

Plates  LVI-LVII.  Pathology  of  American  Bison 278-280 

Plate  LVIII.  Chronic  Infections 282 

Plate  LIX.  Paleozoic  Parasitism 310 

Plate  LX.  The  Oldest  Known  Bacteria 312 

Plate  LXI.  Fossil  Feces 314 

Plate  LXII.  Ancient  Bacteria  and  Fungi 316 

Plate  LXIII.  Bacteria  in  Fossil  Fish  Bone 318 

Plate  LXIV.  Evidences  of  Bacteria  in  Fish  Bone 320 

Plate  LXV.  Microscopic  Structure  of  a Permian  Coprolite 322 

Plates  LXVI-LXVIII.  Opisthotonos  and  Allied  Phenomena 336-340 

Plate  LXIX.  Neolithic  Pott’s  Disease 378 

Plate  LXX.  Stone  Age  Injuries 380 

Plate  LXXI.  Ancient  Human  Pathology 382 

Plate  LXXII.  Neolithic  Trephining 384 

Plate  LXXIII.  Primitive  Surgery 386 

Plate  LXXIV.  Ancient  Egyptian  with  Pott’s  Disease 424 

Plate  LXXV.  Ancient  Egyptian  Pathology 426 

Plate  LXXVI.  Mummified  Organs 428 

Plates  LXXVII-LXXXI.  Ancient  Egyptian  Pathology 430-438 

Plates  LXXXII-LXXXIII.  Primitive  Splints 440-442 

Plates  LXXXIV-LXXXV.  Abnormalities  and  Pathology  of  Ancient  Egyp- 
tian Teeth 444-446 

Plates  LXXXVI-LXXXVII.  Ancient  Egyptian  Pathology 448-450 

Plates  LXXXVIII-XCVII.  Pre-Columbian  Pathology  of  North  America. 466-484 
Plates  XCVIII-CXVII.  Ancient  Peruvian  Pathology 504-542 


INTRODUCTION 


Definition  and  scope  of  paleopathology.  Paleontological  evidences.  Definition  of  disease 
as  used  in  this  work.  Evidences  of  disease  among  fossil  plants.  Apparent  immunity  of  early 
Paleozoic  animals  to  infectious  diseases.  Regeneration.  Immunity  in  modem  invertebrates. 
The  origin  of  disease.  Increase  of  disease  in  geological  time.  Table  showing  geological 
antiquity  of  pathological  processes.  Descriptions  of  Figures  1-4  and  Plates  I-VII  illustrat- 
ing the  introduction.  Figures  1-4  and  Plates  I-VII. 

DEFINITION  AND  SCOPE  OF  PALEOPATHOLOGY 

The  study  of  the  evidences  of  injury  and  disease  among  ancient 
man  and  fossil  animals  is  known  as  Paleopathology.  The  term  was  first 
given  in  the  Standard  Dictionary,  Volume  2,  1895;  where  it  is  defined 
as  “the  science  of  pathological  conditions  in  the  organs  of  extinct  or 
petrified  animals.”^  A later  edition  (1913)  states  that  it  is  “the  study 
of  pathological  conditions  in  fossil  or  extinct  organisms.”  The  term 
was  first  applied  to  a discussion  of  definite  results  by  Sir  Marc  Armand 
Ruffer,®  who  applied  the  term,  apparently  unaware  of  the  earlier 
American  definition,  to  the  methods  and  results  he  had  developed  in 
studying  the  pathological  anatomy  of  the  ancient  Egyptian  mummies. 
He  defined  the  term  in  the  following  words : 

Paleopathology  is  the  science  of  the  diseases  which  can  be  demonstrated  in 
human  and  animal  remains  of  ancient  times  (1913. 1).® 

Although  Ruffer  is  thus  rightly  given  the  credit  for  the  introduction 
of  the  term  “Paleopathology”  into  medical  literature,  yet  it  was  in 
use  for  many  years  prior  to  Ruffer’s  paper,  both  as  a term  and  as  a 
science  in  America.  It  has  been  studied  extensively  especially  at 
Albany,  New  York,  where,  in  the  laboratories  of  the  State  Museum, 
John  M.  Clarke  has  pursued  the  only  American  studies  dealing  with 
the  question  of  early  associations,  parasitism,  and  other  benign  patho- 
logical conditions,  among  the  Paleozoic  invertebrates.  It  is  an  inter- 

* I am  indebted  to  Dr.  Gilbert  Van  Ingen  for  calling  my  attention  to  this  definition.  It 
precedes  all  others. 

’ A discussion  of  the  life  and  works  of  Ruffer  is  to  be  found  in  the  Chapter  (XIII)  on 
“Diseases  of  the  Ancient  Egyptians.” 

^ The  numbers  throughout  the  text  indicate  the  references  at  the  end  of  the  book,  where 
there  is  a bibliography  of  the  works  cited,  quoted  or  from  which  illustrations  have  been  taken. 
The  bibliography  has  been  largely  restricted  to  definite  studies  on  paleopathology,  accessory 
references  being  given  in  footnotes. 


21 


22 


PALEOPATHOLOGY 


esting  fact  that  the  two  definitions,  evolved  in  Egypt  and  in  America, 
independent  of  each  other,  are  so  similar  in  their  scope. 

The  significance  of  the  study  of  paleopathology  in  its  relation  to  a 
proper  understanding,  not  only  of  ancient  afflictions  of  extinct  animals 
but  of  modern  human  diseases  as  well  has  been  discussed  by  Klebs 
(1917.  1 and  2).  A further  discussion  and  extension  of  its  meaning  to 
include  not  only  the  diseases  on  the  mummified  animah  and  human 
remains  of  Egypt,  but  those  of  prehistoric  man  and  fossil  vertebrates  as 
well,  have  been  given  in  a series  of  papers  by  the  author,  dealing  with 
various  aspects  of  the  subject  as  seen  in  the  paleontological  and 
anthropological  material.  The  field  thus  involved  in  the  subject  of 
paleopathology  includes  the  resources  of  medical  history,  as  seen  in 
Ruffer’s  work,  paleontology  and  anthropology. 

The  present  work  is  a summary  of  existing  knowledge  of  the  so- 
called  prehistoric  and  especially  the  pre-human  evidences  of  disease 
(prior  to  500,000  b.  c.)  of  the  extinct  vertebrates,  with  a brief  account 
of  the  origin  of  disease.  This  latter  phase  of  the  subject  is  a rather 
special  field  and  has  been  fully  dealt  with  in  a separate  work  by  Dr. 
Clarke  (1921).  The  term  prehistoric,  of  course,  usually  refers  to  events 
prior  to  the  details  of  recorded  human  history,  and  is  variously  desig- 
nated according  to  the  region  under  discussion.  Thus  in  Eg}-pt  any 
grave  earlier  than  the  time  of  the  first  Dynasty®  is  often  referred  to  as 
prehistoric  or  predynastic.  Since  the  calendar  was  introduced  into 
Egypt  in  the  year  4241  b.  c.  an  ancient  burial  of  predynastic  times 
may  have  an  antiquity  of  from  five  to  six  thousand  years  or  more, 
there  being  no  definite  measurements  of  tim.e  prior  to  this  date.  In 
Erance  LeBaron  (1881)  defines  the  prehistoric®’'  period  as  closing  about 
222  B.  c.,  and  several  centuries  later  in  Algeria.  It  will  be  evident 
that  while  history  was  being  recorded  in  Babylonia  and  Eg\"pt,  contem- 

■*  Lortet  and  Gaillard  (1903-1909)  have  published  a magnificent  memoir  on  the  nature  of 
the  ancient  mummified  human  and  animal  retnains  of  Egj'pt,  in  which  Poncet  has  discussed 
the  pathological  evidences.  Ruffer  (1910.1)  denies  some  of  Poncet’s  conclusions,  especially 
his  diagnosis  of  tuberculosis,  basing  his  opinion  on  more  material  than  was  at  Poncet’s  dis- 
posal. Further  discussion  of  these  interesting  results  is  in  Chapter  XIII. 

® The  first  Dynasty  began  with  the  accession  of  Menes,  3400  b.  c.,  according  to  Breasted — 
1909 — History  of  Egypt,  p.  597.  The  first  and  second  dynasties,  extending  over  a period  of 
420  years  (3400-2980  b.  c.),  were  represented  by  eighteen  kings.  There  is  great  div^ersity 
of  opinion  as  to  the  proper  chronology  in  Egj^t.  I have  adhered  throughout  to  that  given 
by  Breasted.  This  is  quoted  in  full,  for  the  reader’s  convenience,  in  Chapter  XIII. 

This  term  was  introduced  in  1851  by  Sir  David  Wilson,  in  his  work  “The  Archeolog>' 
and  Prehistoric  Annals  of  Scotland,”  where  he  uses  it  to  refer  to  the  races  of  man  prior  to 
written  history. 


INTRODUCTION 


23 


porary  events  elsewhere  were  of  the  nature  of  prehistoric  data  but  only 
for  the  region  in  which  they  occurred. 

Prehistoric  events  in  America  are  usually  regarded  simply  as  pre- 
Columbian,  and  they  are  so-called  in  this  work.  Since  the  written 
records  of  American  events  prior  to  the  coming  of  the  Spaniards  are 
very  rare,  being  largely  confined  to  the  incomplete  Maya®  records,  the 
distinction  of  events  in  either  North  and  South  America  as  certainly  of 
pre-Columbian  date  is  well  nigh  impossible.  The  records  contained 
in  this  book  have  been  ascertained  with  care  but  are  given  with  reserva- 
tions as  to  the  exact  date.  The  archeological  evidences  of  the  Maya, 
Aztec,  and  Inca  civilizations  indicate  a previous  history  of  many 
hundreds  of  years'^  of  which  we  know  very  little.  The  term  prehistoric 
has  no  significance  when  applied  to  paleontological  data,  and  Klebs 
(1917.1)  has  suggested  that  it  be  dropped  altogether.  The  transition 
from  the  prehistoric  to  the  historic  was  everywhere  a slow  and  gradual 
process,  and  the  boundary  is  not  a sharp  one. 

It  is  interesting  to  note  that  the  history  of  disease  and  injury,  from 
the  first  geological  evidences  at  present  obtainable,  down  to  the  his- 
torical data  given  in  August  Hirsch’s  “Handbook  of  Geographical  and 
Historical  Pathology,”  in  which  there  is  a review  of  the  evidences  from 
about  600  B.  c.  to  1875  A.  d.,  ma}^  be  seen  as  a series  of  consecutive 
events  from  the  introduction  of  diseased  conditions  among  animals 
and  plants  down  to  the  present  time.  There  can  thus  be  no  doubt  that 
many  of  the  existing  diseases  have  a very  great  antiquity,  since  from 
their  ravages  in  ancient  times  it  can  be  seen  that  they  have  a history 
extending  back  into  geological  time  for  many  millions  of  years. 

It  is  thought  worth  while  to  review  and  assemble,  in  connection 
with  the  study  of  fossil  lesions,  the  results  of  Ruffer,  already  referred 
to,  Elliot  Smith,  Wood  Jones,  Fouquet,  Rietti,  Gaillard  and  Lortet, 
and  others  on  the  pathological  anatomy  of  the  mummified  remains  of 
ancient  animal  and  human  races  from  the  graves  of  Egypt.  Their  re- 

® C.  P.  Bowditch:  The  Numeration,  Calendar  Systems,  and  Astronomical  Knowledge 
of  the  Mayas.  1910,  340  pp.  Peabody  Museum  of  Harvard. 

A more  popular  account  of  the  Mayas  is  found  in  the  work  of  Herbert  J.  Spinden : An- 
cient Civilizations  of  Mexico  and  Central  America.  New  York,  1917  (American  Museum  of 
Natural  History  Handbook,  Series  3). 

’’  Clark  Wissler:  The  American  Indian,  1917,  p.  270.  Clements  R.  Markham:  The  Incas 
of  Peru,  Chapters  I and  II. 

An  excellent  account  of  the  archeology  of  Peru  is  contained  in  the  work  of  E.  George 
Squier:  Peru,  Incidents  of  Travel  and  Explorations  in  the  Land  of  the  Incas,  London,  1877. 
This  stOl  remains  after  forty  years  the  best  and  most  readable  account  of  the  ancient  ruins  of 
Peru. 


24 


PALEOPATHOLOGY 


suits  are  to  be  found  in  scattered  memoirs  and  reports®  to  which  access 
can  be  had  only  in  a special  library.  Sir  Marc  Armand  Ruffer  had 
planned  a volume  of  antiquarian  studies  which  would  probably  have 
been  a permanent  record  of  his  unique  and  memorable  discoveries  in 
Paleopathology.  Doubtless  he  would  have  had  in  this  work  a careful 
summary  of  all  work  done  on  the  pathology  of  ancient  Egypt.® 

The  review  given  below  in  the  chapter  on  “Diseases  of  the  Ancient 
Egyptians”  is  my  own  interpretation  of  the  work  gleaned  from  many 
scattered  sources.^®  Doubtless,  from  a certain  standpoint,  the  material 
used  by  these  authors  might  be  regarded  as  fossil,  meaning  something 
“dug  up”  (L.  fossilis  = dug  up).  The  term  fossil,  however,  as  used  in 
this  volume  refers  to  material  which  is  thoroughly  or  partially  petri- 
fied,^* the  age  of  which  must  be  reckoned  by  geological  standards. 
The  studies  on  ancient  Egypt  have  been  briefly  reviewed  and  sum- 
marized by  Garrison  (1917),  Klebs  (1917),  and  Sudhoff  (1915,  p.  33), 
and  the  author  has  referred  to  them  at  various  times.  An  extensive 
account  is  given  further  on  in  this  volume. 

* These  are  listed  in  the  bibliography  under  the  authors. 

“ Lady  Alice  Ruffer  writing  under  dates  of  December  9th,  1918,  and  July  24th,  1919  says: 
“When  leaving  on  that  fatal  mission  to  Salonika,  my  husband  gave  me  the  headlines  and  notes 
of  six  papers  which  he  intended  to  write.  These  have  been  worked  up  to  the  best  of  my 
ability,  but  of  course  I have  not  dared  the  summing  up  and  conclusions  which  Sir  Armand 
had  arrived  at,  for  I did  not  know  sufficiently  what  was  in  his  mind.  One  of  these  papers,  a 
short  one,  on  Prehistoric  Trephining  (Ruffer,  1918.1)  has  already  been  published. 

“About  a collected  memoir  summarizing  all  my  husband’s  results  in  Paleopathology; 
such  a thing  does  not  exist.  He  intended  to  retire  this  year  (1919)  from  Government  Service 
and  devote  himself  to  his  science  and  write  a great  memoir  on  it.” 

Lady  Ruffer,  herself,  has  subsequently  brought  about  the  publication  of  a collected 
memoir  of  Sir  Ruffer’s  studies  on  the  Paleopathology  of  Egypt  (Ruffer,  1921). 

Lady  Ruffer  has  kindly  sent  me  a set  of  her  husband’s  studies  on  paleopathology,  and 
manuscript  copies  of  his  unpublished  essays,  which  have  proved  extremely  useful. 

I owe  to  the  kindness  of  Dr.  Claude  GaUlard,  Director  of  the  Museum  d’Histoire  NatureUe 
of  Lyons,  France,  a copy  of  the  splendid  work  by  Lortet  and  himself  on  the  mummified  fauna 
of  Egypt. 

“ An  excellent  discussion  of  fossils  in  general  and  the  nature  of  fossiHzation  processes  has 
been  given  by  L.  P.  Gratacap:  Fossils  and  FossUization.  Amer.  Naturalist,  XXXI,  902;  16, 191, 
285,  293,  1896-7.  He  defines  a fossil  as  “any  indication  of  life  which  has  become  entirely  or 
partially  altered  in  its  substance  or  condition  by  the  mineral  or  chemical  agencies  of  its 
environment.” 

Schuchert  (Text-book  of  Geology,  II,  1915,  p.  430)  regards  fossils  or  petrifactions  as  the 
remains  or  natural  impressions  or  even  traces  of  plants  and  animals  which  have  lived  at  some 
time  previous  to  the  present  and  are  now  buried  in  stratified  rocks.  This  definition  would 
exclude  all  artificial  burials. 

See  also  R.  S.  Lull:  Organic  Evolution,  1917,  N.  Y.,  409-420. 

See  also  in  this  connection:  “Fossils — are  they  merely  ‘prehistoric’  or  must  they  also  be 
‘geologic,’”  Science,  N.  S.,  LIH,  258,  1921. 


INTRODUCTION 


25 


The  studies  of  Ales  Hrdlicka  (1908-1916),  Langdon  (1881),  Fletcher 
and  other  writers  on  the  pathological  anatomy  of  the  North  American 
Indians,  and  of  Hrdlicka  (1914),  Eaton  (1916),  Tamayo,  Palma, 
Escomel  and  other  students  of  the  ancient  Peruvians  have  not  been 
neglected  in  summarizing  our  knowledge  of  Paleopathology.  This 
literature  has  been  supplemented  by  a first  hand  study  of  collections 
in  various  museums,  which  have  loaned  or  photographed  material 
for  this  purpose. 

The  meager  details  of  the  diseases  of  fossil  man  have  been  largely 
gleaned  from  the  literature,  or  confirmed  by  the  study  of  casts  of  the 
inaccessible  originals.  This  subject  has  been  already  briefly  reviewed 
(Moodie,  1918.5)  and  is  recast  here  in  more  complete  form  in  Chapter 

XII. 

PALEONTOLOGICAL  EVIDENCES 

Paleontological  data  add  considerable  information  to  the  study  of 
the  antiquity  of  disease.  The  causes  of  disease  or  injury  among  ancient 
animals  may  be  grouped  under  the  following  headings 

(1)  Mechanical  injuries  through  natural  causes,  such  as  crushing 
or  breaking  of  bones,  shells  or  tests  by  wave  shock  or  impact  in  falling. 

(2)  Injuries  caused  by  predatory  animals  in  water  and  on  land,  such 
as  crabs,  cephalopods,  sharks,  and  carnivorous  mammals.  Such  evi- 
dences are  commonly  seen  in  Cretaceous  reptiles. 

(3)  Parasitic  lesions  caused  by  the  presence  of  worms,  sponges, 
corals,  algae  or  other  organisms  which  become  attached  on  or  bore  into 
shells  of  living  animals  or  the  unprotected  columns  of  crinoids.  Such 
lesions  furnish  our  earliest  evidences  of  pathology.  This  t)q)e  of  injury 
is  commonly  seen  in  the  irregularly  thickened  walls  of  oyster  shells 
which  have  been  attacked  by  sponges. 

(4)  Bacterial  sinuses  indicated  in  bony  tumors,  decayed  teeth, 
necrotic  foci  of  many  kinds  seen  in  vertebrates.  Bacterial  diseases  of 
fossil  plants  and  lesions  produced  by  fungi  belong  in  this  category. 

(5)  A peculiar  kind  of  pathology  is  caused  by  poisoning  of  the 
waters  in  which  the  animals  lived.  This  may  result  in  hypertrophy, 
abnormalities  of  form  or  a depauperized  fauna. 

(6)  A weakened  or  senile  condition  manifested  by  loss  of  vigor 
attendant  upon  phylogentic  old  age  of  a race,  by  which  the  members 
have  become  unable  to  cope  with  changes  in  their  environment,  with 

Dr.  Gilbert  Van  Ingen  has  for  some  years  given  a lecture  to  his  students  at  Princeton 
on  Paleopathology,  and  the  following  outline  is  taken  from  the  abstract  of  his  lecture  which 
he  has  sent  me.  The  lecture  is  illustrated  by  a series  of  fossil  pathological  invertebrates. 


26 


PALEOPATHOLOGY 


resulting  degeneracy  and  final  extinction.  The  production  of  spines 
is  often  an  external  manifestation  of  phylogenetic  old  age. 

The  study  of  the  lesions  so  far  known  among  fossil  animals  indicates 
nothing  new  in  the  nature  of  pathological  processes  but  simply  extends 
our  knowledge  of  pathology  to  a vastly  earlier  period  than  had  pre- 
viously been  known.  It  seems  quite  probable  that  some  of  the  diseases 
exhibited  by  the  extinct  vertebrates  went  out  of  existence  with  the  race 
of  animals  which  were  afflicted.  If  this  proves  to  be  true  it  is  an  inter- 
esting opportunity  to  study  the  details  of  lesions  of  extinct  diseases. 
There  seems  to  be  little  possibility,  from  a study  of  paleontology^  of 
determining  the  fundamental  causes  of  disease  other  than  is  already 
known;  for  disease  is  apparently  one  of  the  manifestations  of  life,  and 
has  followed  the  same  lines  of  evolution  and  development  as  have  plants 
and  animals,  and  has  probably  been  directed  by  the  same  factors. 
Life  processes  in  the  past  have  taken  place  in  the  same  manner  as  they 
do  today,  and  there  is  no  reason  to  suppose  that  pathological  evidences 
will  be  of  a different  type. 

Such  a study  as  the  present  may,  however,  throw  light  on  the 
origin,  or  at  least  the  antiquity,  of  many  of  the  diseases  to  which  the 
human  race  is  a prey.  A knowledge  of  the  pathological  processes 
which  have  taken  place  in  animals  of  geological  antiquity  may  aid  in 
an  understanding  of  the  general  nature  of  disease.  A study  of  fife  in 
its  widest  scope  forms  the  fundamentals  of  medicine.  Observable 
data  of  any  nature  will  certainly  be  of  assistance  and  possibly  the 
evidences  of  remote  periods,  since  they  are  on  a priori  grounds  simpler, 
may  be  viewed  more  clearly  than  the  recent  evidence. 

The  literature  of  vertebrate  paleontology  contains  a number  of 
incidental  references  to  the  diseased  nature  of  the  fossilized  bones  of 
fishes,  reptiles,  birds  and  mammals,  the  lesions  described  indicating  a 
variety  of  diseases,  some  of  which  are  not  uncommon  today.  It  is 
manifestly  impossible  to  diagnose  correctly,  on  the  basis  of  our  modern 
knowledge  of  recent  diseases,  all  of  the  lesions  which  are  preserved  in  a 
fossil  condition.  Great  care  has  been  exercised  in  assigning  any  of  the 
fossil  lesions  to  a definite  cause  and  few  generaUzations  have  been 
attempted  on  the  incomplete  data  at  hand.  In  the  extinction  of  the 
ancient  races  certain  diseases  doubtless  became  extinct  with  them,  and 
if  extinct  they  have  no  name  but  represent  an  unknown  phase  of  dis- 
ease. Then,  too,  many  diseases  may  be  quiescent  over  long  periods  of 
time  and  reappear  centuries  later  in  a modified  form.  Thus  the  disease 
known  as  sweating  sickness,  the  characteristics  of  which  are  carefully 


INTRODUCTION 


27 


described  by  Hecker  (1846)  for  the  Middle  Ages,  has  reappeared  in 
modified  form  during  the  past  two  decades  in  western  Europe,  after 
being  long  regarded  as  an  extinct  disease.  In  addition  to  a careful 
summary  of  paleontological  hterature  many  original  observations  are 
recorded,  based  on  the  study  of  miaterial  in  various  museums. 

Geological  evidences  of  the  diseased  state  of  animals  are  neces- 
sarily restricted  to  pathological  lesions  on  the  hard  parts  of  fossil 
animal  remains.  Soft  parts  are  seldom  preserved  among  the  fossil 
vertebrates,  many  of  the  softer  organs  being  very  rarely  represented 
by  impressions  or  casts  of  stone.  Occasionally,  as  in  the  case  of  the 
Devonian  shark  described  by  Dean,^®  the  histological  details  of  the 
muscle  and  kidney  are  preserved.  Certain  very  interesting  specimens 
of  fossil  brains  of  a small  Carboniferous  ganoid  fish  have  also  been 
made  known.^^  These  few  specimens  of  soft  parts,  however,  have  not 
been  subject  to  disease,  and  the  evidences  of  pathology,  meager  as  they 
are,  must  be  read  from  the  osseous  lesions.  Since  the  pathological 
changes  which  affect  the  hard  parts  of  animals  today  are  relatively  few 
when  compared  to  the  diseases  which  afflict  the  body  as  a whole,  it  is 
to  be  assumed  that  the  paleontological  evidences  of  disease  are  but 
partial  indications  of  the  prevalence  of  pathological  conditions  in 
remote  geological  epochs.  When  we  add  to  this  the  fact  that  only  a 
small  portion  of  the  animal  remains  preserved  are  ever  recovered,  and 
only  a small  fraction  of  each  fauna  is  fossilized,  we  are  able  to  appre- 
ciate the  insignificance  of  the  record.  The  details  are  meager,  but  since 
they  are  all  we  have,  they  may  be  deemed  worthy  of  consideration. 

We  are  just  beginning  to  appreciate  the  significance  of  the  study 
of  paleopathology,  and  the  apphcation  of  pathological  methods  to  the 
study  of  fossil  lesions  will  bring  new  light  to  bear  on  many  phases  of  the 
problem.  The  comparative  scantiness  of  facts  so  far  brought  out  and 
the  difficulties  of  research  ought  not  to  hinder  the  successful  prosecu- 
tion of  the  work.  We  will  have  to  await  results  to  determine  what  the 
final  conclusions  may  be;  the  immediate  facts  being  to  call  attention 
to  the  presence  of  characteristic  lesions  of  injury  and  disease  far  back 
in  geological  time.  It  is  very  interesting,  if  not  important,  to  find  in 
past  geological  ages  evidences  of  pathological  processes  which  are  so 

^^Bashford  Dean;  Studies  on  Fossil  Fishes.  Mem.  Am.  Mus.  Nat.  Hist.,  N.  Y.  ix,  pt.  v 
232,  1909. 

Roy  L.  Moodie:  A New  Fish  Brain  from  the  Coal  Measures  of  Kansas,  with  a Review 
of  Other  Fossil  Brains.  J.  Comp.  Neurol.,  xxv,  135-181,  19  figs.  1915.  Contains  an  anno- 
tated bibliography  of  papers  on  the  soft  parts  of  extinct  vertebrates. 


28 


PALEOPATHOLOGY 


familiar  to  us  today.  If  we  can  trace  the  known  lesions  to  any  definite 
cause  among  the  extinct  animals  it  will  be  a step  toward  the  completion 
of  a new  branch  of  pathology,  dealing  with  the  most  ancient  aspects 
of  that  science. 

The  importance  of  this  branch  of  study  in  the  interpretation  of 
medical  history  and  modern  medicine  has  been  outlined  by  Klebs 
(1917.1)  in  the  following  words: 

We  need  only  consider  what  definite  influence  diseases  exert  in  our  individual 
lives,  what  profound  social  upheavals  were  brought  about  through  the  influence 
of  epidemics,  less  perceptibly  perhaps  but  none  the  less  strongly,  through  wide- 
spread chronic  ailments,  through  professional  diseases,  how  whole  districts  and 
countries  are  forsaken  because  disease  made  them  uninhabitable,  how  disease  affect- 
ing early  childhood  and  others  producing  sterility  led  to  the  gradual  extinction  of 
whole  peoples.  . . . For  the  grasp  of  such  problems,  the  study  of  disease  as  it 
appears  to  us  now  does  not  suffice,  the  traces  left  during  immense  periods  of  time 
have  to  be  taken  into  account  and  it  is  in  just  such  questions,  not  approachable  by 
other  methods,  that  paleopathology  in  time  to  come  may  furnish  important  solu- 
tions. 

Most  students  of  both  vertebrate  and  invertebrate  fossils  have 
neglected  the  evidences  of  disease.  In  fact  diseased  or  injured  fossils 
are  often  discarded  because  they  lack  some  typical  aspect  in  which  the 
student  is  interested.  There  is  thus  a wide  field  of  study  especially 
among  the  more  ancient  forms  of  life  which  has  not  yet  been  cultivated. 
Even  men  like  Leidy,  a trained  anatomist  and  an  eminent  medical 
teacher,  paid  scant  attention  to  the  evidences  of  pathology  among  the 
many  thousands  of  fossil  remains  of  reptiles  and  mammals  in  the 
description  of  which  he  attained  such  distinction  in  the  paleontology 
of  North  America.  He  did,  however,  refer  to  the  subject  for  he  figured 
and  briefly  described  an  interesting  diseased  phalange  of  an  early 
oreodont  and  discussed  rather  fully  the  occurrence  of  caries  in  the 
molar  tooth  of  a Pleistocene  mastodon  from  Florida  (Leidy,  1886). 
Cuvier  added  to  the  discussion  of  this  phase  of  paleontology  by  the 
description  of  a few  lesions  especially  calling  attention  to  a fractured 
and  healed  skull  (Cuvier,  1820)  of  an  old  Hyaena  from  the  Pleistocene 
of  France,  and  a fractured  femur  of  the  Ohgocene  Anoplotherium. 

Doubtless  one  reason  for  the  neglect  of  the  study  of  Paleopathology 
was  the  great  amount  of  interest  early  workers  found  in  the  discovery 
and  descriptions  of  new  forms  of  animal  hfe,  as  well  as  in  interpreting 
the  significance  of  these  forms  in  the  principles  of  organic  evolution, 
which,  during  the  greater  part  of  the  past  century,  attracted  the  atten- 
tion of  the  best  biological  thought.  The  science  of  paleontology",  start- 
ing out  in  this  way,  has  now  reached  the  stage  where  it  seems  propitious 


INTRODUCTION 


29 


to  add  to  its  biological  aspect  the  interrelation  of  medical  history  and 
pathology 

DEFINITION  OF  DISEASE  AS  USED  IN  THIS  WORK 
Disease,  for  the  purpose  of  discussion  in  paleopathology,  may  be 
defined^  as  any  deviation  from  the  healthy  or  normal  state  of  the 
body  which  has  left  a visible  impress  upon  the  fossilized  or  mummified 
remains.  These  evidences  may  take  the  form  of  broken  bones,  which 
have  been  more  or  less  completely  healed,  with  or  without  the  forma- 
tion of  callus,  but  tumors,  necroses,  hyperplasias,  and  deforming  arthri- 
tides  of  all  kinds  constitute  the  more  obvious  indications  of  disease  or 
injury.  The  intimate  associations  of  earlier  Paleozoic  animals  often 
resulted  in  a pathological  relationship  which  is  essentially  one  of  dis- 
ease. Such  associations  belong  to  the  earlier  stages  of  disease  in  which 
the  lesions  are  less  obvious,  though  the  result  was  none  the  less  serious 
to  the  animal  affected. 

Only  the  diseases  of  fossil  animals,  chiefly  those  of  the  vertebrates, 
and  of  ancient  man  are  considered.  This  is  done  with  a full  realization 
of  the  enormous  domain  of  phytopathology  and  the  pathology  of  the 
invertebrates,  and  the  significance  of  the  diseases  of  these  forms  in  an 
interpretation  of  the  scope  of  paleopathology  in  its  broadest  aspects. 
WhetzeP^  in  reviewing  the  development  of  phytopathology  does  not 
mention  the  domain  of  fossil  plant  pathology,  and  doubtless  much 
remains  to  be  done  in  this  field.  In  Chapter  III  Dr.  Edward  W.  Berry 
has  given  a brief  discussion  of  what  is  known  about  disease  among  fossil 
plants  but  apparently  the  field  has  not  been  as  intensively  cultivated  as 
it  has  been  among  recent  plants,  and  that  for  obvious  reasons. 

EVIDENCES  OF  DISEASE  AMONG  FOSSIL  PLANTS 
That  ancient  plants,  as  well  as  animals,  were  subject  to  disease  and 
injury  of  various  types,  may  be  seen  by  referring  to  Chapter  III.  Bac- 
terial and  fungus  activity  is  known  to  have  been  in  existence  since 
the  Devonian  and  was  especially  active  during  the  Carboniferous. 
Probably  evidences  could  be  detected  at  much  earlier  horizons  if  petri- 
fied material  of  greater  age  were  available  for  study.  It  is  often  difficult 

^ Synthesis  of  Paleontology  and  Medical  History.  Science,  N.  S.,  xlviii,  no.  1251,  1918, 
619-620. 

“An  infectious  disease  . . . may  be  interpreted  as  the  result  of  parasitism  in  which 
no  mutual  adaptation  has  taken  place,  and  in  which  the  invasion  of  the  host  by  the  micro- 
organism is  marked  by  a struggle,  the  local  and  systemic  manifestations  of  which  constitute 
the  disease.”  Hans  Zinsser:  Infection  and  Resistance,  2nd  ed.  1918,  8. 

H.  H.  Whetzel:  An  Outline  of  the  History  of  Phytopathology,  Phila.,  1918. 


30 


PALEOPATHOLOGY 


to  decide  whether  the  ravages  of  bacteria  and  fungi  are  pre-  or  post- 
mortem, and  thus  to  discriminate  between  disease  and  decay.  Condi- 
tions seem  to  have  been  especially  favorable  for  mycological  growths 
during  the  Coal  Measures  and  it  may  be  that  this  rapid  growth  played 
a part  in  the  production  of  the  early  obvious  lesions  of  disease  seen  from 
this  period. 

APPARENT  IMMUNITY  OF  EARLY  PALEOZOIC  ANIMALS  TO 
INFECTIOUS  DISEASES 

Present  observations  indicate  that  the  animals  of  the  earher  periods 
of  the  earth’s  history  were  free  from  disease,  and  even  injuries  are 
rarely  found.  Although  indefinite  lesions  have  been  recorded  on  the 
shells  of  brachiopods,  cephalopods  and  lamellibranchs,  possibly  in 
many  cases  resulting  from  injuries  to  the  mantle,  they  seem  to  be  the 
results  of  parasitic  attacks  rather  than  due  to  infection  or  other  cause. 
There  are  abundant  examples  of  healed  lesions  in  the  ancient  shelled 
animals.  Doubtless  many  more  have  been  seen  that  were  never 
recorded.  A lesion  often  seen  occurs  on  the  hinge  line  of  molluscs  or  on 
the  delicate  calcified  brachial  supports  of  the  brachiopods. 

Accidental  injuries  are  seen  in  the  reticulum  of  ancient  glass  sponges. 
Early  pathological  conditions,  however,  seem  to  be  indicated  by  the 
interdependence  of  organic  forms  rather  than  by  the  actual  lesions  of 
disease.  Parasitism  of  a pathogenic  nature  occurs  only  as  early  as  the 
Devonian.  All  the  evidences  at  hand  thus  point  to  the  conclusion  that 
early  life  was  comparatively  free  of  any  associations  or  conditions 
which  could  be  regarded  as  pathologic.  Bacterial  infections  are  un- 
known until  the  late  Paleozoic.  Although  bacteria  are  among  the  oldest 
known  forms  of  life,  having  been  described  from  the  Algonkian,  Galla- 
tin Formation  of  Montana  (Fig.  1),  they  seem  to  have  been  active  in 
the  deposition  of  limestones,^®  together  with  the  algae  with  which  they 
were  associated.  Extensive  studies  on  the  bacteria  and  fungi  of  the 
Coal  Measures  and  later  periods  of  France  especially  have  been  made 
by  Renault  and  Van  Tieghem  (1895-1900).  A fairly  complete  fist  of 
their  publications  is  given  by  Smith  (1905)  in  his  bibliography  on  “Bac- 
teria in  Ancient  Times,”  and  their  results  are  full)'  discussed  in  Chapter 
IX  of  the  present  work. 

The  activity  of  bacteria,  especially  the  Bacterium  calcis,  in  the  formation  of  recent 
limestone  deposits  has  been  studied  by  G.  Harold  Drew;  On  the  Precipitation  of  Calcium 
Carbonate  in  the  Sea  by  Marine  Bacteria,  and  on  the  Action  of  Denitrifjmg  Bacteria  in  Tropi- 
cal and  Temperate  Seas.  Papers  from  the  Tortugas  Laboratory  of  the  Carnegie  Institution 
of  Washington,  1914,  V,  7-45. 


INTRODUCTION 


31 


Few  lesions  due  to  either  accident  or  infection  have  been  made 
known  among  either  the  vertebrates  or  invertebrates  of  the  earlier 
geological  periods,  prior  to  the  Carboniferous.  It  is  true  that  pathologic 
individuals  of  the  brachiopod  Platystrophia  belonging  to  the  Ponderosa 
subgroup  are  quite  common^®  in  the  Arnheim  beds  (Richmond  group  of 
the  Mississippian)  of  the  Ohio  Valley.  They  are  large,  globose,  asym- 
metrical forms  frequently  with  distorted  beaks,  and  in  some  individuals 
there  is  a tendency  toward  a loss  of  the  fold  on  one  side.  But  these  inci- 
dents are  quite  late  in  the  Paleozoic.  Loxoplocus^^  is  an  irregularly 
twisted  Silurian  snail  with  rather  thicker  walls  than  those  of  its  normal 
Loxonema  relatives,  that  should  owe  its  abnormality  to  an  increased 
amount  of  salts  dissolved  in  the  sea  waters  of  Guelph  time.  Another 
phenomenon  of  a different  nature  that  should  also  be  mentioned  here 
is  the  depauperization  or  diminution  in  size  of  all  the  members  of  a 
fauna.  The  members  look  like  their  normal  relatives,  are  exactly  the 
same  in  proportions  of  the  shell  parts  and  in  ornamentation;  but  the 
individuals  are  from  one  half  to  one  twentieth  of  the  size  of  the  normal. 
Such  depauperized  faunas  are  well  exemplified  by  that  of  the  pyrite 
layer  which  represents  the  western  extension  of  the  Tully  limestone  in 
New  York;  that  of  the  Salem  limestone  of  Bedford,  Indiana,  of  Mis- 
sissippian age;  that  of  the  Cason  limestone  of  Silurian  age  near  Bates- 
ville,  Arkansas ; and  many  others.  The  diminution  in  size  may  be  due 
to  crowding  in  a limited  environment,  to  concentration  of  sea  water,  to 
excess  of  iron  salts  in  solution,  to  excess  of  hydrogen  sulphide,  and  to 
decrease  of  the  temperature  of  the  water,  perhaps  through  chilling  by 
influx  of  an  Arctic  current.  Whatever  the  apparent  cause  of  depauper- 
ization, the  ultimate  cause  seems  to  be  in  every  case  a decrease  in 
amount  of  available  oxygen. 

Another  and  different  type  of  pathology  is  indicated  in  the  clam 
Venus  tridacnoides  (Plates  VI  and  VII)  of  the  Miocene  of  Virginia. 
This  species  seems  to  be  estabhshed  on  pathologic  individuals  or  a 
pathologic  race  of  another  clam  Venus  Riley i.  The  pathology  is  ap- 
parently brought  about  through  the  crumpling  of  the  edge  of  the 
mantle,  possibly  because  of  the  incursion  of  fresh  water  into  the  normal 
sea  in  which  the  Rileyi  was  living.  It  is  of  interest  to  note  that  in  the 
Miocene  of  Maryland  the  species,  Venus  Rileyi,  occurs  in  abundance  in 
its  normal  form,  indicating  that  the  freshening  of  the  sea  water  which 

Eula  Davis  McEwen:  A Study  of  the  Bachiopod  Genus,  Platystrophia.  Proc.  U.  S. 
Natl.  Museum,  Ivi,  1919,  396. 

Data  furnished  by  Dr.  Gilbert  Van  Ingen. 


32 


PALEOPATHOLOGY 


induced  the  pathology  was  localized  in  the  vicinity  of  the  York  River, 
Virginia. 

All  of  these  conditions  are  of  course  suggestive  of  certain  types  of 
pathology,  but  one  is  impressed  by  the  paucity  of  the  record  among  the 
thousands  of  examples  of  normal  forms  which  have  been  studied  and 
described.  The  lack  of  knowledge  may  be  due  to  several  factors.  The 
external  stony  skeleton  of  the  early  animals  protected  them  more  com- 
pletely from  traumatic  influences,  and  the  occasional  specimens  which 
show  fracture  of  the  shell  indicate  only  severe  trauma.  Numerous 
observations  have  been  made  on  callosities  on  the  inside  of  the  shells  of 
brachiopods,  where  the  shell  had  been  broken  in  life  and  later  repaired 
with  the  formation  of  callous  lumps.  Such  evidences  are  at  least 
as  old  as  the  middle  of  the  Ordovician.^^  Injured  crinoids  with  regen- 
erated arms  also  indicate  a certain  type  of  injury  and  recovery  there- 
from, the  regenerated  arms  often  being  double.  A brachiopod  shell 
with  fracture  and  healed  lesions  is  shown  in  Figure  3e. 

While  it  seems  possible  that  we  are  largely  ignorant  of  pathology 
among  ancient  invertebrates  yet  it  may  well  be  that  the  invertebrate 
animals  of  the  Proterozoic  and  Paleozoic,  which  were  the  predominant 
types  of  animal  life  during  these  periods,  were  free  from  disease  which 
aflSicted  the  hard  parts,  as  are,  in  general,  the  invertebrates  of  today. 
It  is  true  that  many  recent  invertebrates  are  highly  parasitized  and 
are  often  subject  to  epidemics  of  disease.  It  appears  probable,  however, 
that  vertebrates  have  been  more  liable  to  diseases  which  afflict  the 
hard  parts  than  have  the  invertebrates,  either  fossil  or  recent.  This 
conclusion  may  be  due  to  the  fact  that  more  is  known  about  disease 
among  vertebrate  groups.  This  liability  to  pathological  changes  has 
increased  with  the  passage  of  geological  time. 

REGENERATION 

The  results  of  severe  traumatism,  especially  among  certain  of  the 
invertebrates,  are  often  seen  to  be  interesting  forms  of  regenerated 
parts.  Since  traumatic  lesions  of  all  kinds  are  a phase  of  pathology 
my  purpose  in  mentioning  regeneration  here  will  be  to  discuss  briefly 
the  question  of  regeneration  among  fossil  animals.  A much  more 
elaborate  account  might  have  been  prepared  and  more  examples  of 
regeneration  in  fossil  animals  might  have  been  mentioned  but  for  the 
purpose  of  this  book  as  an  introduction  to  the  study  of  ancient  evidences 
of  disease  the  following  account  will  suffice.  I acknowledge  the  aid  of 

I owe  these  observations  to  Dr.  Charles  Schuchert. 


INTRODUCTION 


33 


Miss  Mary  Rathbun  and  Mr.  Frank  Springer  for  the  materials  in  this 
section. 

Regeneration  among  modern  Crustacea  is  a matter  which  is  com- 
monly known,  the  regeneration  often  resulting  in  malformation  due  to 
new  formation  of  the  lost  part  in  an  altered  form.  This  is  most  com- 
monly seen  in  the  case  of  claws  and  pincers,  because  these  are  the  parts 
which  are  most  commonly  lost  in  fighting.  Since  these  are  the  portions 
of  the  decapods  most  frequently  fossilized,  interesting  examples  of 
ancient  regeneration  are  possible  of  determination  among  fossil  forms. 
Since  the  tests  of  these  creatures  are  so  fragile  the  number  of  specimens 
preserved  is  necessarily  limited  and  the  association  of  parts  is  often 
lost. 

Malformation  among  the  Crustacea  has  been  abundantly  described 
..mcng  modern  forms,  especially  by  Faxon, who  has  discussed  es- 
specially  the  deformed  claws  of  the  lobster  and  the  blue  crab.  Herrick^^'" 
and  Cole^^°  have  likewise  further  discussed  the  question,  but  to  mention 
other  examples  and  especially  the  enormous  literature  of  experimental 
work  done  on  regeneration  would  lead  us  too  far  afield.  There  are  in 
the  U.  S.  National  Museum  various  specimens  similar  to  those  de- 
scribed above  but  Miss  Rathbun  writes  that  she  has  never  encountered 
any  examples  of  regenerated  parts  among  fossil  decapods. 

The  fossil  crinoids  or  sea  lilies  furnish  many  of  our  most  obvious 
examples  of  regeneration  and  I have  quoted  from  Mr.  Frank  Springer’s 
“The  Crinoidea  Flexibilia,”  pp.  402-3,  his  discussion  of  this  question. 
I also  owe  to  his  courtesy  the  figures  shown  in  Figure  3b,  c,  and  d. 

Among  the  numerous  specimens  of  this  species  (Taxocrinus  coUetti)  some  inter- 
esting special  cases  have  been  observed.  Among  these  are:— 

(3)  Malformation.  This  is  shown  by  figures  10a,  b,  c,  of  Plate  LVII,  where  the 
specimen  has  apparently  six  rays,  the  left  posterior  radial  being  an  axillary  and 
supporting  two  equal  series  of  primibrachs;  there  is  accompanying  confusion  among 
the  basals,  only  four  of  them  being  in  the  ring,  while  the  fifth  is  superimposed 
at  the  posterior  side,  as  shown  in  the  diagram.  Still  more  interesting  than  this  is 
a remarkable  case  of : — 

(4)  Recuperation  (PI.  LVI,  figs.  11a,  b,  c).  In  this  case  the  entire  crown 
except  the  infrabasals  and  one  basal  has  been  broken  off  and  replaced  by  new 
growth;  the  stem  and  plates  mentioned  clearly  belong  to  a much  larger  crinoid, 
and  the  one  remaining  basal  tells  very  plainly  what  has  happened.  Here  also  are 
six  rays,  one  directly  following  the  old  basal  without  any  regard  to  its  angular 
axillary  face  which  remains  exposed  exteriorly;  one  opposite  to  it,  and  two  each 
from  axillary  radials  at  each  side;  three  greatly  unequal  new  basals  and  two 

On  some  crustacean  deformities.  Bull.  Mus.  Comp.  Zook,  viii.  No.  13,  1881. 

Symmetry  in  the  big  claws  of  the  lobster.  Science  xxv,  275, 1907. 

Description  of  an  abnormal  lobster  cheliped.  Biol.  Bull.,  xviii.  No.  5,  1910. 


34 


PALEOPATHOLOGY 


each  from  axillary  radials  at  either  side;  three  greatly  unequal  new  basals  are 
developed  beneath  these.  This  individual  had  only  one  basal  left  to  build  upon, 
and  the  recuperation  of  the  entire  crown  from  this  indicates  that  the  seat  of  vitality 
was  lodged  low  down  within  the  infrabasals.  The  structures  can  be  well  studied 
in  the  diagram,  lie,  where  the  old  plates  are  shaded  and  the  new  growth  shown  in 
outline. 

Recuperation  of  more  than  a single  ray  in  Paleozoic  crinoids  has  not  hitherto 
been  recorded,  but  I am  now  able  to  report  an  interesting  case  of  apparently  habit- 
ual detachment  of  aU  the  arms  in  life,  and  occasional  regeneration,  in  the  rather 
abundant  species  of  the  Cincinnati  area  described  as  Heterocrinus  juvenis  Hall 
(24th  Report  New  York  State  Mus.,  1872,  pi.  5,  figs.  9,  10;  Meek  in  Paleontology 
of  Ohio,  vol.  I,  pi.  I,  figs  3a,  b).  This  is  now  known  to  belong  to  the  genus  Ohio- 
crinus,  having  the  arms  heterotomous  with  lateral  ramules  springing  from  strong 
rami,  instead  of  dichotomous  as  in  the  typical  Heterocrinus.  The  species  is  usually 
found  in  good  preservation,  except  that  by  far  the  greater  number  of  specimens  are 
minus  the  arms,  as  shown  in  Hall’s  figures  9 and  10  and  Meek’s  figure  3,  above  cited. 
The  break  is  almost  invariably  at  the  level  of  the  tegmen,  just  above  the  first  primi- 
brach,  and  it  includes  the  anal  tube  as  well  as  the  arms.  This  loss  of  the  normal 
food-gathering  apparatus  was  not  immediately  fatal,  for  in  a large  number  of 
individuals  the  fractures  were  partially  repaired,  leaving  the  surfaces  smoothly 
rounded;  and  the  stumps  of  rays  are  often  bent  inward  as  if  trying  to  close  over  the 
tegmen,  as  shown  in  HaU’s  figures.  Efforts  at  recuperation  were  made,  sometimes 
producing  a new  set  of  arms  usually  of  a different  size  or  color  and  more  or  less 
imperfect,  and  sometimes  resulting  only  in  the  addition  of  a few  dwarfed  brachials. 

This  tendency  to  cast  off  the  arms  resulted  in  a remarkable  dwarfing  of  the 
crown,  which  is  usually  no  larger  in  diameter  than  the  stem,  while  the  latter,  as 
compared  with  the  stem  of  crinoids  generally,  appears  relatively  of  enormous  size. 
Among  195  specimens  of  this  species  in  the  collection  before  me  117  have  lost  their 
arms,  leaving  the  fractured  surfaces  rounded,  while  55  show  more  or  less  recupera- 
tion. Specimens  with  the  arms  in  the  normal  condition,  like  Meek’s  figure  3a,  are 
quite  rare. 

Similar  occurrences  are  frequent  among  the  recent  Bourgueticrinidae.  Daniel- 
son has  described  some  of  them  in  the  Arctic  species,  Bathycrinus  (Blycrinus)  car- 
penteri,  and  Doederlein  in  species  of  Bathycrinus  and  Rhizocrinus.  The  species  of 
these  genera  in  which  the  loss  and  occasional  regeneration  of  arms  are  chiefly 
observed  all  have  the  relatively  very  large  stem  and  diminished  crown  seen  in 
the  fossil  species  above  mentioned;  and,  as  in  that  species,  the  separation  of  the 
arms  seems  to  be  a very  common  occurrence,  leading  to  the  suggestion  by  both  these 
authors  that  it  may  have  been  a voluntary  autotomy.  Some  of  the  instances  of 
regeneration  are  very  remarkable — one  reported  by  Doederlein  (Siboga,  p.  6,  pi. 
5,  fig.  3)  being  that  of  a stem  which  had  lost  the  entire  crown,  but  still  had  life 
enough  to  regenerate  structures  at  the  proximal  end,  which  took  the  form  not  of 
calyx  plates,  but  of  radical  cirri,  thus  producing  the  singular  arrangement  of  a stem 
with  a root  at  each  end. 

IMMUNITY  IN  MODERN  INVERTEBRATES 

The  greater  immunity  of  early  Paleozoic  animals  to  disease,  based 
on  the  evidences  of  paleontological  material,  is  probably  not  a true 
index  to  actual  conditions.  It  is  probably  not  safe  to  conclude  from 
present-day  conditions  what  the  state  of  Paleozoic  animals  may  have 


INTRODUCTION 


35 


been  as  regards  disease.  At  any  rate  the  paleontological  evidences  are 
not  wholly  substantiated  by  conditions  found  in  modern  forms.  The 
immunity  among  Paleozoic  invertebrates  may  be  apparent,  only  based 
on  insufficient  data,  or  it  may  be  the  correct  status  of  affairs.  The 
conclusions  of  observations  so  far  made  point  to  the  latter  being  true. 
Metchnikoff  has  called  attention  to  the  occurrence  of  epidemics  of  a 
severe  nature  among  protozoa,  such  as  diseases  in  Amoebae  caused  by 
the  Microsphaera  and  the  disease  in  Actinophrys  attributed  to  fungi 
alhed  to  the  genus  Pythium.  Pasteur’s  studies  on  the  pebrine  and  fla- 
cherie  of  the  silkworms  will  be  remembered  as  instances  of  severe 
epidemics  in  an  invertebrate  group.  Molluscs,  however,  are  appar- 
ently largely  immune  to  infection.  Since  the  molluscous  animals  formed 
such  a large  percentage  of  the  preserved  faunas  of  the  early  periods  of 
the  earth’s  history  we  may  attribute  our  ignorance  of  the  presence  of 
disease  to  this  factor,  in  part  at  least.  The  immunity  of  many  inter- 
mediate hosts  to  infection  is  well  known.  The  classical  example  of  the 
mosquito-borne  infections  will  suffice,  although  it  is  well  known  that 
insects  of  many  kinds  are  subject  to  fatal  diseases.  Kowalevsky  has 
discussed  the  anthrax  of  crickets  and  many  other  students  have  studied 
the  problem.  The  entire  question  of  immunity  in  its  relation  to  all 
forms  of  extinct  animals  is  of  course  a new  and  unsolved  problem. 
But  it  seems  certain  that  if  the  early  animals  were  diseased,  the  ensuing 
pathology  was  of  such  a nature  as  to  leave  no  impress  upon  the  fossil- 
ized part;  or  else  we  have  not  yet  learned  to  recognize  these  lesions. 

THE  ORIGIN  OF  DISEASE 

Disease  doubtless  began  with  the  inception  of  antagonism  between 
two  forms  of  life,  and  this  may  have  occurred  as  early  as  the  Archeo- 
zoic, and  disease  thus  be  as  old  as  hfe  itself.  The  evidences  thus  far 
seen  point  to  a benign  antagonism  only  late  in  the  Paleozoic.  If  this 
is  true  the  early  faunas  were  free  of  disease.  Phagocytosis  began,  with- 
out doubt,  very  early  in  the  history  of  animal  life.  It  is  probable 
that  the  natural  im,munity  of  the  early  animals  was  sufficiently  strong 
to  resist  the  invasion  by  any  pathogenic  organisms  in  sufficient  num- 
bers to  produce  disease.  The  breaking  down  of  this  immunity  may 
possibly  be  correlate^  vith  the  development  of  senescence^^  among  the 

The  studies  of  Charles  Emerson  Beecher  (1856-1904),  an  American  paleontologist,  upon 
evolutionary  phases  of  the  early  fossil  brachiopods  and  trilobites  are  especially  important  to  a 
consideration  of  the  question  of  race  senescence  and  the  extinction  of  animal  groups.  His 
papers  have  been  collected  into  a volume:  “Studies  in  Evolution,”  New  York,  1901. 

The  entire  subject  of  senescence  in  the  recent  lower  animals  is  discussed  by  Child  in 
“Senescence  and  Rejuvenescence”  University  of  Chicago  Press,  1915. 


36 


PA  LEOPA  TIIOLOGY 


early  races  of  animals,  which  reached  a climax  in  the  trilobites  at  about 
the  time  we  find  the  early  indications  of  disease  among  fossil  animals. 
The  breaking  down  of  the  immunity,  due  to  the  development  of  race 
senescence  and  the  introduction  of  disease,  doubtless  was  of  great 
importance  in  the  extinction  of  the  trilobites,  and  other  great  groups  of 
animals  which  have  disappeared  from  the  earth. 

I do  not  intend  to  assert  that  senility  or  senescence  is  a disease,  but 
that  age  weakens  the  organism  and  the  race  and  allows  the  ingress  of 
disease.  Minot^^  has  stated: 

Old  age  is  not  a disease  and  cannot  be  cured;  it  is  an  accumulation  of  changes 
which  begins  during  earliest  youth  and  continues  throughout  the  entire  life  of  the 
individual. 

It  may  be  said  that  the  evidences  of  disease  in  past  geological  time 
are  not  confined  to  those  races  of  animals  which  showed  senescence. 
Paleontological  indications  of  senescence  (Fig.  3a)  are  the  reduction 
in  size,  or  its  contrary,  the  loss  of  racial  vigor,  an  external  manifestation 
often  being  seen  in  the  production  of  apparently  useless  spines  as 
evidenced  in  many  races  of  animals  which  have  become  reduced  or 
extinct,  such  as  the  crinoids,  trilobites,  brachiopods,  ammonites  and 
among  reptiles  the  Permian  forms  and  the  dinosaurs,  many  of  which 
assumed  bizarre  forms.  The  tendency  of  many  races  of  animals  to 
acquire  spinous  and  other  useless  excrescences  of  the  hard  parts  shortly 
before  the  extinction  of  the  group  is  noteworthy,  and  this  tendency 
has  been  regarded  by  paleontologists  as  an  indication  of  senescence.  It 
was  doubtless  correlated  with  the  introduction  of  disease. 

A study  of  senescence  in  dogs  and  the  relation  of  old  age  to  disease, 
recently  made  by  Goodpasture,^^  supports  in  an  interesting  manner 
this  suggestion  concerning  certain  factors  in  the  origin  of  disease  among 
the  animals  of  past  ages. 

INCREASE  OF  DISEASE  IN  GEOLOGICAL  TIME 

It  will  be  interesting  to  show  in  a graph  (Figure  2)  how,  according 
to  present  evidences,  disease  has  progressed  during  the  geological  his- 
tory of  the  earth.  The  graph  is,  of  course,  tentative  and  is  based  on 
present  knowledge.  It  may  with  the  advance  of  knowledge  be  entirely 
changed. 

C.  S.  Minot;  Introduction  (p.  x)  to  Translation  of  Metchnikoff’s  “Prolongation  of 
Life”  by  P.  Chalmers  Mitchell,  N.  Y.  1912,  8°. 

E.W. Goodpasture:  An  Anatomical  Study  of  Senescence  in  Dogs,  with  Especial  Refer- 
ence to  the  Relation  of  Cellular  Changes  of  Age  to  Tumors.  J.  Med.  Research,  Best.,  xxxsdii, 
127-190. 


INTRODUCTION 


37 


The  twenty-five  divisions  on  the  base  line  a-d  represent  as  many 
periods  of  the  earth’s  history.  The  divisions  on  the  vertical  line  d-b 
represent  the  approximate  number  of  diseases  present  in  each  period,  as 
indicated  by  the  known  fossil  lesions.  The  time  intervals  in  the  graph 
are  shown  as  of  equal  value,  but  the  geological  periods  are  not  at  all  of 
equal  duration,  nor  of  equal  character.  At  the  point  “a”  we  may  say 
organic  life  is  first  known.  It  will  be  seen  that  the  fine  a-b,  representing 
the  history  of  disease,  follows  a base  level  for  the  first  twelve  periods  of 
the  earth’s  history.  Then  the  curve  gradually  rises  until  during  the 
Cretaceous  at  “c”  diseases  and  accidents — such  as  caries,  osteoperi- 
ostitis, deforming  arthritides,  necroses,  hyperostosis,  osteophytes,  osteo- 
mata, fractures,  and  many  infective  processes  reached  a maximum  of 
development  among  the  dinosaurs,  mosasaurs,  crocodiles,  plesiosaurs 
and  turtles.  The  curve  suddenly  and  sharply  descends  from  “c,” 
since  with  the  close  of  the  Cretaceous  and  the  sudden  extinction  of 
large  groups  of  reptiles,  the  incidence  of  disease  also  decreased.  It 
seems  quite  probable  that  many  of  the  diseases  which  afflicted  the 
dinosaurs  and  their  associates  became  extinct  with  them. 

The  mammals  of  the  Cretaceous  and  early  Tertiary  periods  do  not 
seem  to  have  been  so  generally  afflicted^“  with  disease  as  were  the 
preceding  groups  of  giant  reptiles^®  nor  as  were  the  later  mammals. 
The  ascending  curve  therefore  is  not  so  abrupt  as  one  might  expect. 

25  The  following  criticism  of  this  statement,  published  originally  in  the  Annals  of  Medical 
History,  vol.  1,  1919,  from  Dr.  W.  D.  Matthew  in  a letter  dated  May  20th,  1919,  wUl  give  an 
entirely  different  viewpoint,  though  I fear  my  results  are  not  to  be  regarded  as  “statistics”: 

“I  have  read  your  discussion  of  pathologic  evolution  with  interest,  but  your  statements 
do  not  appear  to  me  to  prove  anything,  for  you  fail  to  take  into  account  the  fact  that  fossils 
become  rarer  and  less  well  preserved  as  you  go  back  in  geologic  time,  and  consequently  dis- 
eased conditions  are  less  likely  to  be  noted  and  less  likely  to  be  recognized  and  recorded. 
You  would  expect  to  find  more  recocruizable  diseased  conditions  among  ten  thousand  well 
preserved  Pleistocene  fossil  mammals  than  among  one  hundred  fragmentary  and  poorly  pre- 
served Paleocene  fossil  mammals;  or  among  a thousand  fine  specimens  of  Cretaceous  dino- 
saurs than  among  a hundred  Triassic  dinosaurs  rather  poorly  preserved.  Other  neglected 
factors  are  that  such  conditions  are  more  likely  to  be  noted  and  recorded  in  large  than  in  small 
animals,  and  in  rare  fossils  than  in  common  ones.  There  is  no  way  of  eliminating  these  three 
factors,  any  one  of  which  vitiates  your  statistics.” 

I had  offered  no  statistics  but  simply  attempted  to  show  the  manner  in  which  diseases 
occurred  among  the  known  fossil  remains.  Dr.  Matthews’  remarks  should,  however,  add 
caution  to  the  acceptance  of  any  results  in  paleopathology  as  final.  I have  not  changed  the 
graph  for  it  seems  after  a lapse  of  years  of  study  essentially  correct. 

25  Dr.  Matthew  elsewhere  remarks;  “My  judgment  would  be  that  injuries  and  diseases 
are  neither  more  nor  less  common  among  Tertiary  or  Mesozoic  vertebrates  than  among  wild 
animals  today.”  I have  been  unable  to  find  any  literature,  save  a few  scattering  notes,  which 
bear  on  the  diseases  of  modern  wild  animals  so  am  in  no  position  to  make  a comparison.  Cer- 
tainly the  evidences  known  are  very  scanty  for  both  groups. 


38 


PALEOPATHOLOGY 


Certain  processes  of  disease  seem  to  have  been  acquired  by  the  mam- 
mals from  preceding  forms,  or  at  least  the  same  diseases  are  evident 
in  the  reptiles  and  mammals.  The  curve  rises  rapidly,  however,  and 
reaches  the  highest  point  at  “b,”  indicating  that  disease  is  much  more 
prevalent  at  the  present  time  than  ever  before  in  the  history  of  the 
world. 

The  geological  development  of  disease  has  certain  curious  charac- 
teristics v/hich  parallel  facts  in  the  evolution  of  animals  and  plants. 
Huxley  many  years  ago  called  attention  to  certain  persistent  types  of 
animals  which  had  existed  almost  unchanged  from  early  geological 
periods  down  to  the  present  time.  Among  the  known  diseases  of  geo- 
logical antiquity  a few  can  certainly  be  called  persistent  or  primitive 
types  which  have  remained  unchanged  since  the  close  of  the  Paleozoic. 
Other  diseases  arose  and  became  extinct. 

According  to  present  evidences  disease  is  from  the  geological 
standpoint  relatively  recent  in  its  origin  and  has  afflicted  the  inhabi- 
tants of  the  earth  for  only  the  last  one-quarter  of  the  earth’s  history — 
that  is,  for  the  last  25,000,000  out  of  a possible  100,000,000  years. 
Future  discoveries  will  doubtless  modify  our  present  conceptions,  but 
the  above  outline  is  a summary  of  our  knowledge  of  the  rise  and 
developm.ent  of  disease  among  animals. 

TABLE  OF  GEOLOGICAL  EVIDENCES 

The  table  given  below  vdll  show  briefly  the  antiquity  of  pathological 
processes  in  geological  history.  The  estimates  of  time  are  based  on  the 
relative  thickness  of  the  pre-Cambrian  and  post-Cambrian  rocks,  as 
given  by  Osborn  (1917).  The  estimates  of  the  duration  of  the  geological 
periods  vary  greatly.  The  duration  of  the  Proterozoic  was  as  great 
probably  as  all  post-Cambrian  time,  which  has  been  estimated  at 
100,000,000  years.  A study  of  radioactive  substances  gives  estimates 
as  high  as  1,600,000,000  years  for  the  duration  of  the  Archeozoic, 
although  Walcott  estimated  that  only  70,000,000  years  have  elapsed 
since  the  beginning  of  sedimentation.  Schu chert  estimates  the  dura- 
tion of  geological  time  at  800,000,000  years.  While  authors  vary 
greatly  in  their  estimates  they  all  agree  that  the  duration  of  geological 
time  has  been  very  great,  running  into  many  millions  of  years.  The 
estimates  given  in  the  first  column  are  conservative.  The  table  will 
show  the  relative  antiquity  of  various  pathological  processes,  whatever 
value  may  be  assigned  to  the  time  estimates. 


INTRODUCTION 


39 


TABLE  SHOWING  GEOLOGIC-AL  ANTIQUITY  OF  PATHOLOGICAL 

PROCESSES 


Time 

Eras 

Geological 

Periods 

Chief  Ani- 
mal Groups 

Evidences  of 
Pathology 

3,000,000 

to 

10,000,000 

years 

Ceno- 

ZOIC 

Quaternary 

Age  of  Man 

Abundant  lesions  on  fossil  and  sub- 
fossil human  remains 

Tertiary 

Age  of  Mam- 
mals 

Numerous  diseases  represented  on 
animal  remains  from  the  deposits  of 
the  period 

6,000,000 

to 

12,000,000 

years 

Meso- 

zoic 

Cretaceous 

Age 

of 

Reptiles 

Lesions  on  the  bones  of  mosasaurs, 
dinosaurs,  pleisosaurs,  turtles,  croco- 
diles, phytosaurs  and  other  reptUes 
representing  diseases  similar  to  the 
modern  forms  of  periostitis,  hemangi- 
oma, necrosis,  caries,  pyorrhea  alveo- 
laris,  arthritides,  fracture  with  cal- 
lus, pachyostosis,  osteoma,  opistho- 
tonos and  other  lesions  which  cannot 
be  interpreted. 

Comanchean 

Jurassic 

Triassic 

12,000,000 

to 

19,000,000 

years 

Paleo- 

zoic 

Permian 

Age 

of 

Amphibians 

The  lesions  knowm  represent  dental 
caries,  pyorrhea  alveolaris,  fracture, 
osteomyelitis,  caUus  and  parasitism. 
These  periods  witnessed  the  begin- 
nings of  disease.  Bacteria  and  fungi 
were  abundant. 

Pennsylvan- 

ian 

Mississippian 

Devonian 

Age 

of 

Fishes 

Few  evidences  of  disease  are  known 
from  these  periods.  Beginning  of 
dependent  life.  Parasitism. 
Traumatisms. 

Silurian 

Ordovician 

Age 

of 

Inverte- 

brates 

Cambrian 

31.000. 000 
to 

50.000. 000 
years 

Protero- 

zoic 

Keweena- 

wan 

First 

known 

fossils 

No  life 
known 

Bacteria  (non-pathogenic) 

Animikian 

Huronian 

Algomian 

Sudburian 

45,000,000 

to 

1,600,000,000 

years 

Archeo- 

zoic 

Laurentian 

No  life 
known 

Paleolauren- 

tian 

•vm- 


. . •«;  ¥i#®'  ■#  i '*t» 


:m-''  ' t:S:^.>;;  ■ /■  , 

'’■' •*’%i -,■  '/  ', 

y'''y  ' \ y'^'j  ■■■'  ' V,  ■ ■'.**!,> 


— Hf  ■ *»»1« 

,/  ■ «jii  ' •'■f  i.L  ? ' 


>•;■.  ■'■'T  .,  li'T'ij'  ,r.| 

D ,“  7'  v'  ' IU'5  i^.% 


INTRODUCTION 


41 


DESCRIPTIONS  OF  FIGURES  1-4  AND  PLATES  I-VII  ILLUSTRATING 
THE  INTRODUCTION 


42 


PALEOPA THOLOGY 


Figure  1 

The  oldest  known  bacteria,  designated  as  Micrococcus  from  the  pre-Cambrian 
rocks  of  Montana,  had  no  relation  to  disease.  The  chains  figured  here  were  dis- 
covered by  Dr.  Charles  D.  Walcott  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution,  in  association 
with  the  earliest  plants  and  animals,  in  the  very  early  stages  of  the  earth’s  history. 
It  has  been  suggested  that  these  bacteria  were  of  the  type  which  cause  the  deposi- 
tion of  calcium  from  sea  water.  They  are  associated  with  algae  which  may  be  seen 
in  the  broad  stripes  running  diagonally  across  the  field.  X 1100.  Courtesy  of 
Dr.  Walcott. 


Figure  1 


INTRODUCTION 


43 


S'. 


44 


PALEOPATHOLOGY 


Figube  2 

A graph  showing  the  relative  frequency  of  disease  in  the  different  geological 
periods,  based  on  the  meager  evidences  at  present  available.  Spaces  on  the  base 
line  represent  divisions  of  geological  time,  although  it  should  be  noted  that  the 
periods  of  time  are  not  of  equal  duration.  The  point  “c”  represents  the  apex  of 
the  large  reptilian  groups. 


Figure  3 

PALEOZOIC  EXAMPLES  OF  PATHOLOGY 

a.  A large  (nearly  two  feet  long)  Paleozoic  spinose  trilobite,  Teraiaspis  grandis 
HaU,  showing  in  the  exaggerated  spines  indications  of  racial  senescence.  (After 
Hall.) 

b.  Recuperated  crown  of  a fossil  crinoid,  showing  the  stem  nearly  as  large  as 
the  crown.  The  crown  was  broken  off  during  life,  leaving  only  infrabasals  and  one 
basal,  the  parts  above  those  being  restored  by  a new  growth  producing  an  irregular 
crown  with  three  new,  very  unequal  basal  plates  and  four  radials,  two  of  which  are 
axillary,  thus  giving  six  rays.  (After  Springer.) 

c.  Right  anterior  view,  showing  old  basal  with  distal  faces  still  exposed.  X 2. 
(After  Springer.) 

d.  Diagram  showing  form  and  arrangement  of  plates,  infrabasals  and  basals. 
Specimens  from  Keokuk  Group,  Lower  Carboniferous,  Crawfordsville,  Indiana. 

e.  Brachiopod  shell  with  fracture  at  the  point  of  the  arrow.  Rafinesquina 
alternata  Emmons.  Lorraine,  Ordovician,  Halls  Creek,  Warren  County,  Ohio. 
Courtesy  of  Dr.  W.  H.  Twenhofel. 


e 


Figure  3 


INTRODUCTION 


45 


FIGURE  4 


46 


PALEOPATHOLOGY 


Figure  4 

DIAGRAM  ILLUSTRATING  NORTH  AMERICAN  HISTORICAL  GEOLOGY 

The  rivers  on  the  earth  have  always  carried  mud,  sand,  and  gravel  to  the  sea, 
which,  in  settling,  have  spread  out  in  layers  over  the  sea  bottoms.  Remains  of 
various  forms  of  life,  such  as  shells  and  bones,  accumulated  after  death  in  these 
layers  on  the  sea  bottom,  where  the  hard  parts  were  preserved  as  fossils.  In  time, 
these  sediments  consolidated  into  hard  rock  and  have  been  elevated  above  sea 
level. 

The  geologist  studies  these  ancient  sea  deposits,  which  now  form  a large  part 
of  the  earth’s  surface,  and  from  the  nature  of  the  sediments  and  from  the  life 
remains  or  fossils,  that  they  contain,  he  is  able  to  reconstruct  much  of  the  past 
history  of  the  globe. 

The  rocks  in  the  earth’s  crust  give  evidence  also  of  the  phj-sical  conditions 
under  which  they  were  formed,  and  apparently  the  physical  processes,  such  as 
erosion  and  weathering,  have  not  changed  throughout  time.  The  life  on  the  globe, 
however,  is  constantly  varying,  owing  to  change  of  environment,  and  species 
after  species  sooner  or  later  die  out  to  be  replaced  by  other  forms  of  life.  Rocks 
of  similar  age  therefore  contain  similar  species  of  fossils.  Human  history,  which  is 
measured  in  thousands  of  years,  is  but  a small  part  of  historical  geology  which 
necessarily  extends  back  through  many  millions  of  years. 

If  all  the  sedimentary  rocks  of  past  ages  had  been  accumulated  in  their  greatest 
thickness  at  one  place  they  would  form  a succession  of  strata  over  40  miles  in  height. 
This  succession,  known  as  the  geological  column  or  time  table,  with  the  names  of 
its  subdivisions,  the  forms  of  life  characterizing  each,  and  the  thickness  and  kinds 
of  rock  is  shown  in  Figure  4. 


(Courtesy  of  Dr.  R.  S.  Bassler.) 


DIAGRAMMATIC  SECTION  OF  EARTH’S  CRUST 


CHARACTERISTIC  ROCKS 

Wrm  MAXIMLW  THICKNESS 


Alluvial  deposits  in  rivers,  etc. 


Shale,  sand,  and  gravel 

5,000  feet  clay, shale,  gravel. and  sandstone 


14.000  feet  shales,  sandstones,  and  lime- 
stone 


6,000  feet  shales,  sandstone,  and  lime- 
stone 


8,000  feet  limestone,  sandstone,  and  coal 


20.000  feet  sandstone,  shale,  hmestone, 
and  coal  beds 


20,000  feet  limestone,  shale,  and  sandstone 


10,000  feet  sandstone  and  shale 


15,000  feet  sandstone,  shale,  and  coal  beds 


7,000  feet  sandstone  and  shale 


10,000  feet  sandstone,  shale,  and  coal  beds 


4,500  feet  shale  and  limestone 


12,000  feet  limestone,  sandstone,  and  shale 


6.000  feet  sandstone,  shale,  and  limestone 


6,000  feet  sandstone,  limestone,  and  shale 


4,000  feet  limestone  and  shale 


6,500  feet  massive  limestone 


18,000  feet  quartzite,  sandstone,  shale, 
and  limestone 


30,000  feet  conglomerate  and  sandstone 
with  lava  flows 


14.000  feet  banded  slates  and  cherts  with  iron  ore 

10.000  feet  glacial  conglomerates,  quartzite,  and  lime- 

6t«ne  


20,000  feet  of  white  quartzite 


100.000  feet  sedimentary  schist  and  gneiss 
with  lava  flows;  slates,  conglomerates, 
and  limestone 


Granite  and  other  igneous  rocks 


Figure  4 


INTRODUCTION 


47 


PLATE  I 


48 


PALEOPATHOLOGY 


PLATE  I 

MIDDLE  CAMBRIAN  ANNULATA 

1-3.  Canadia  setigeraWdlcott.  4-7.  Canadia  5pinosayNd\cott.?>,9.  Aysheam 
pedunculata  Walcott. 

From  locality  35k,  Middle  Cambrian:  Burgess  shale  member  of  the  Stephen 
formation,  west  slope  of  ridge  between  Mount  Field  and  Wapta  Peak,  1 mile 
(1.6  km.)  northeast  of  Burgess  Pass,  above  Field,  British  Columbia. 

Plates  I-V  are  introduced  to  show  the  normal  marine  fauna  of  Cambrian  times, 
when  so  far  as  we  now  know  there  was  no  disease.  These  small  creatures,  shown 
herewith,  may  to  be  sure  have  been  infected  by  sporozoans  and  hence  have  been 
diseased,  but  we  have  no  way  of  knowing  this.  The  fossil  specimens  indicate  to  us 
a healthy  set  of  animals  such  as  are  commonly  found  in  modern  marine  faunas. 
We  suppose  that  disease  did  not  exist  at  this  time  since  it  was  millions  of  years 
later  that  a benign  form  of  parasitism  was  introduced.  There  were  no  vertebrates 
of  any  kind  when  these  animals  were  living  back  at  the  beginning  of  the  known 
history  of  animal  life. 


Plate  I 


50 


PALEOPATHOLOGY 


PLATE  II 

MIDDLE  CAMBRIAN  CRUSTACEANS 

1-3.  Burgessia  bella  Walcott:  4,  5.  Waptia  jieldensis  Walcott;  6.  Opabinia 
regalis  Walcott.  From  Burgess  Pass  fossil  quarry,  near  Field,  British  Columbia. 


Plate  IT 


INTRODUCTION  51 

-.  L-'- V 


PLATE  III 


^j.v  V^i> 

'■j'- 


V 


52 


PALEOPATHOLOGY 


PLATE  III 

LOWER  CAMBRIAN  TRILOBITES 

1.  FoZmia  ? iwacer  Walcott;  2-10.  Olenellus  truemaniV^3\coX.\..  Mahto  forma 
tion;  from  Mumm  Peak,  6 miles  north  of  Robson  Peak  and  northwest  of  Yellow 
head  Pass,  in  western  Alberta. 


Plate  III 


INTRODUCTION 


53 


PLATE  IV 


54 


PALEOPATHOLOGY 


PLATE  IV 

CAMBRIAN  BRACHIOPODS 

a=area;  c/  = cardinal  muscle  scar;  f’=foramen;  F'=cast  of  foraminal  tube; 
/i=  central  muscle  scar;  i = transmedian  muscle  scar;  j = anterior  lateral  muscle 
scar;  vascular  sinus. 

Oholus,  Dicellomus,  Lingulella,  A.crothele,  and  other  genera  ■ re  represented 
from  localities  in  the  United  States,  Canada,  Sweden,  France,  and  China. 


Plate  IV 


1 


INTRODUCTION 


55 


PLATE  V 


56 


PALEOPATHOLOGY 


PLATE  V 

MroOLE  CAMBRIAN  MEDUSA  AND  HOLOTHURIAN 

«■=  central  ring;  />=  digitate  tentacle;  rc  = radial  canals;  5=  stomach;  at  = four 
large  lobes.  1,  2.  Peytoia  nathorsti  Walcott.  (Medusa,  or  jellyfish.)  3.  Eldonia 
ludwigi  Walcott.  (Holothurian.) 

From  locality  35k,  Middle  Cambrian;  Burgess  shale  member  of  the  Stephen 
formation,  west  slope  of  ridge  between  Mount  Field  and  Wapta  Peak,  1 mile 
(1.6  km.)  northeast  of  Burgess  Pass,  above  Field,  British  Columbia. 


Plate  V 


INTRODUCTION 


57 


PLATE  VI 


58 


PALEOPATHOLOGY 


PLATE  VI 

MIOCENE  NORMAL  AND  PATHOLOGIC  CLAMS 

External  and  internal  views  of  the  right  valves  of  the  two  types  of  clamshells 
known  as  (A)  Venus  Rileyi,  which  is  supposed  to  be  the  normal  form  and  is  ob- 
tained from  the  Miocene  deposits  of  Maryland,  and  (B)  the  so-called  Venus  tridack- 
noides,  supposed  to  be  the  pathologic  race  of  the  previous  species  and  is  derived 
from  the  Miocene  deposits  of  York  River,  Virginia,  where  an  incursion  of  fresh 
water  may  have  brought  about  the  crumpling  of  the  edge  of  the  mantle.  This 
would  result  in  a disturbance  in  the  metabolism  of  the  individual  clams,  producing 
the  enormous  roughening  of  the  exterior  of  the  shell  and  the  hypertrophy  of  the 
calcareous  and  chitinous  material.  The  specific  characters  of  the  two  tj^ies  of  shel  s 
are  said  to  be  identical. 

To  the  left  are  shown  sawn  sections  through  the  two  right  valves  of  (A)  Venus 
Rileyi  and  (B)  Venus  tridachnoides'mAic&ting  the  degree  of  hj^iertrophy,  the  nature 
of  which  is  shown  in  Plate  VII. 


Plate  VI 


INTRODUCTION 


PLATE  VII 


CO 


PALEOPATHOLOGY 


PLATE  vn 

PHOTOMICROGRAPHS  OF  A NORMAL  AND  A PATHOLOGIC  CLAM 

a.  The  layers  of  the  shell  of  Venus  mercenaria,  a recent  clam  shell  from  the 
coast  of  Cape  Cod,  Massachusetts,  to  show  by  comparison  with  “b”  the  relative 
thickness  of  the  layers  of  nacre.  The  prismatic  layer  is  still  evident  above  in  this 
shell,  but  it  was  not  evident  in  the  fossil.  X 50. 

b.  The  layers  of  the  fossil  shell,  Venus  tridachnoides,  showing  that  the  hyper- 
trophy is  a matter  of  increased  thickness  of  the  layers  of  nacre,  on  which  fact  its 
pathologic  nature  is  assumed.  If  regarded  as  pathologic  it  must  be  of  the  more 
benign  type,  on  the  borderland  of  a diseased  condition.  X 50. 

The  micrometer  measurements  of  the  layers  of  the  three  species  of  Venus  are 


as  follows: 

Venus  mercenaria.  Innermost  layer 80  microns 

Intermediate  layer 75  “ 

Layer  adjacent  to  periostracum 140  “ 

Venus  Rileyi.  Innermost  layer 148  “ 

Intermediate  layer 78  “ 

Layer  adjacent  to  periostracum 240  “ 

Venus  tridachnoides.  Innermost  layer 262  “ 

Intermediate  layer 168  “ 

Layer  adjacent  to  periostracum 551  “ 


The  same  layer  was  chosen  in  each  case  for  measurement  so  far  as  was  prac- 
ticable, but  anyone  who  has  attempted  such  measurement  soon  finds  that  his 
measurements  are  approximate  only.  They  serve  to  show  the  nature  of  the  hyper- 
trophy in  the  pathologic  clam. 


Plate  VII 


CHAPTER  I 


DEVELOPMENT  OF  PALEOPATHOLOGY 

Historical  account  of  studies  on  ancient  diseases.  Tabular  review  of  literature  deal- 
ing with  Paleopathology.  Nature  of  ancient  diseases.  Persistence  of  certain  types  of 
disease.  Tabulation  of  the  antiquity  of  certain  pathological  processes.  Measurements  of 
geological  time.  Descriptions  of  Figures  5-7  and  Plates  VIII-X  illustrating  Chapter  I. 
Figures  5-7  and  Plates  VIII-X. 

HISTORICAL  ACCOUNT  OR  STUDIES  ON  ANCIENT  DISEASES 

The  literature  of  vertebrate  paleontology  contains  a number  of 
incidental  references,  and  a few  detailed  studies,  on  the  diseased  nature 
of  the  fossilized  bones  of  fishes,  reptiles,  birds  and  mammals.  These 
contributions  will  be  reviewed  in  this  chapter.  The  subject  of  ancient 
diseases  has  occasionally  attracted  the  attention  of  men  trained  in  the 
study  of  medicine  and  has  resulted  in  a number  of  interesting  contribu- 
tions. Two  such  men  were  the  surgeon  von  Walther  and  the  pathologist 
Rudolf  Virchow.  Their  contributions  are  discussed  below. 

The  literature  of  archeology  and  anthropology  has  been  drawn  upon 
for  data  concerning  the  nature  of  ancient  diseases  and  is  especially 
referred  to  in  the  later  pages  of  this  work  where  the  pathologic  condi- 
tions of  the  early  human  races  are  discussed. 

The  studies  on  the  pathology  of  ancient  Egypt  are  only  briefly 
referred  to  in  this  chapter,  a fuller  account  being  given  in  the  discussion 
of  the  “Diseases  of  the  Ancient  Egyptians.” 

Pathological  conditions  on  the  fossils  of  bones  of  extinct  animals 
were  first  recognized  and  described  among  the  Pleistocene  mammals, 
especially  the  cave  mammals  of  Europe.  These  remains  were  the  first 
to  attract  the  attention  of  the  early  paleontologists  and  the  relics  found 
in  them  were  for  a long  time  supposed  to  be  evidences  of  the  universal 
flood  which  according  to  Hebrew  tradition  had  destroyed  all  animal 
life.  Dean  Buckland  (1784-1856),  of  Oxford,  in  1824  especially  defends 
this  idea  in  his  “Reliquiae  Diluvianae,”  wherein  he  says  (p.  42) : 

Thus  the  phenomena  of  this  cave  seem  referable  to  a period  immediately  ante- 
cedent to  the  last  inundation  of  the  earth,  and  in  which  the  world  was  inhabited  by 
land  animals,  almost  all  bearing  a generic  and  many  a specific  resemblance  to  those 
which  now  exist;  but  so  completely  has  the  violence  of  that  tremendous  convulsion 


62 


PALEOPATHOLOGY 


destroyed  and  remodelled  the  form  of  the  antediluvian  surface,  that  it  is  only  in 
caverns  that  have  been  protected  from  its  ravages  that  we  may  hope  to  find  undis- 
turbed evidences  of  events  in  the  period  immediately  preceding  it. 

The  earliest  reference,  in  paleontological  literature,  to  the  patho- 
logical  nature  of  fossil  bones  was  by  E.  J.  C.  Esper  (1742-1810), 
Professor  at  Erlangen,  in  1774,  as  cited  by  Goldfuss.  Esper  described 
on  the  lower  half  of  the  femur  of  a cave  bear  {Ursus  spelaeus),^  what  he 
regarded  as  an  osteosarcoma.  Mayer  (1854),  however,  says  that  it 
appears  merely  to  have  been  a fracture,  with  some  callus  and  necrosis 
of  the  bone. 

Goldfuss,  early  in  the  following  century,  says  regarding  the  manner 
of  life  of  the  Pleistocene  mammals : 

That  these  animals  were  predatory  is  evidenced  by  the  fact  that  at  times  the 
molars  have  polished  surfaces  and  the  apices  of  the  canines  are  often  broken  ofi. 
Also  the  pathological  bones  so  far  found  are  evidence  that  they  were  wounded 
in  ferocious  encounters  or  other  accidents.  Esper  figures  a pelvis  which  shows 
traces  of  a fracture  which  has  healed  with  the  formation  of  considerable  callus.  I 
possess  a skull  in  which  the  right  half  of  the  occipital  has  been  crushed  and  espe- 
cially the  tuberosity  at  the  lamboid  suture  has  been  so  compressed  that  there  is  a 
depression  (compressed  fracture)  at  this  place  and  the  tuberosity  has  been  pushed 
toward  the  occipital  foramen. 

The  skull  of  the  hyena  referred  to  above  by  Goldfuss  was  later 
described  and  figured  by  Cuvier^  (1820),  (Figure  6)  who  says  regarding 
this  specimen: 

This  skull  is  very  remarkable  in  that  it  exhibits  a wound  which  the  animal 
had  received  some  time  before  death,  for  the  injury  was  w^ell  healed.  The  specimen 
is  from  Gaylenreuth,  and  has  been  sent  me  by  Soemmering.  The  skuh  is  that  of 
an  old  hyaena  who  had  suffered  a severe  injury  to  its  occipital  crest,  probably 
from  an  attack  of  one  of  the  large  lions  or  tigers  which  lived  in  the  same  vicinity 
and  whose  bones  are  found  mingled  with  those  of  the  hyaena  in  the  same  caverns. 

Cuvier  also  described  and  figured  a healed  fracture  of  the  femur  of 
■ Anoplotherium  commame  (1820).  As  a rule,  however,  he  paid  scant 
attention  to  this  important  phase  of  paleontology. 

'Samuel  Thomas  von  Soemmering  (1755-1830),  Professor  of  anatomy  and  physiology 
at  Mainz  (1784-1797),  one  of  the  most  energetic  and  progressive  anatomists  of  Germany,  also 
(1828)  studied  and  described  this  femur. 

^ Georges-Leopold-Chretien-Frederic-Dagobert,  Baron  de  la  Cuvier,  a noted  French 
zoologist,  paleontologist  and  comparative  anatomist,  1769-1832.  He  is  often  regarded  as  the 
founder  of  systematic  paleontology,  a distinction  which  he  probably  shares  with  Lamarck, 
PaUas,  Camper  and  many  other  contemporary'  and  preceding  students  of  the  subject.  His 
most  famous  work  in  paleontology  is:  Recherches  sur  les  ossefnais  fossiles,  in  1821-23  in  5 
volumes.  This  work  constitutes  the  foundation  of  the  modern  study  of  extinct  vertebrates, 
based  on  his  studies  of  the  ancient  mammals  of  the  Upper  Eocene  of  hlontmartre.  His  philo- 
sophical speculations  concerning  extinction  and  geological  succession  are  now  mere  matters 
of  history,  not  being  acceptable  to  the  modern  student. 


HISTORICAL  SKETCH  AND  TIME  RATIOS 


63 


There  are  in  the  Hunterian  Museum  of  the  College  of  Physicians 
and  Surgeons  in  London  some  bones  from  the  cave  animals  of  Oreston, 
England,  which  were  described  in  the  early  years  of  the  nineteenth 
century  by  William  Clift  (1823),  who  observes  that  the  appearance  of 
disease  in  fossil  bones  is  of  rare  occurrence.  Among  the  bones  he 
described,  however,  he  found  two  examples  in  the  metacarpal  and 
metatarsal  bones  of  the  bo\dne  animals,  showing  upon  their  surface 
the  effect  of  ossific  inflammation.  There  were  also  marks  of  disease  in 
the  lower  jaw  of  a young  wolf,  in  which  there  is  an  abscess  and  con- 
siderable necrosis  of  the  bone. 

At  about  the  same  time,  certain  fossil  bones  attracted  the  attention 
of  an  eminent  surgeon,  (Figure  7)  von  Walther,^  who  described  (1825) 
numerous  fossil  Pleistocene  bones^®  showing  pathological  lesions.  This 
paper  has  been  carefully  reviewed  by  Mayer  (1854),  who  also  pays 
tribute  to  Walther’s  reputation  as  a surgeon.  Von  Walther  was  much 
impressed  by  the  undoubted  evidences  of  disease,  thousands  of  years 
old,  which  he  observed  on  eleven  of  the  bones  of  the  Pleistocene  cave 
bears  and  cave  lions,  as  seen  and  studied  in  the  collections  at  Bonn.  A 
right  femur  exhibited  extensive  necrosis,  with  widespread  carious  rough- 
ening of  the  bone.  He  observed  also  co-ossification  of  two  dorsal 
vertebrae  due  to  arthritic  lesions ; caries  in  the  left  mandibular  ramus, 
especially  extensive  in  the  alveolar  fossae  and  processes  of  the  canine 
and  molar  teeth,  resulting  in  extensive  absorption  of  the  processes.  He 
described  on  another  mandibular  ramus  a heavy  thickening  of  the  alveo- 
lar process  associated  with  an  extensive  carious  surface,  and  numerous 
osteophytes.  A lumbar  vertebra  is  widely  necrosed  by  caries.  Von 
Walther  remarks : 

There  is  no  doubt  that  the  animal,  to  which  this  lumbar  vertebra  belonged,  had 
suffered  from  tuberculous  spondylitis,  and  that  the  disease  was  in  its  advanced 
third  stage. 

A left  mandibular  ramus  shows  an  hypertrophied  mental  protuber- 
ance, associated  with  diseased  incisors.  The  entire  alveolar  process  is 

® Philipp  Franz  von  Walther  (1781-1849)  of  Bonn  was  one  of  the  most  noted  physicians 
of  the  early  half  of  the  nineteenth  century.  He  worked  energetically  for  the  union  of  medicine 
and  surgery  and  always  kept  in  \dew  in  his  practice  a safe  and  sane  viewpoint.  He  enriched 
surgery  by  the  publication  of  numerous  contributions  as  well  as  by  a “System  der  Chirurgie” 
published  in  Breisgau  in  1851,  in  five  volumes.  Von  Walther  is  especially  well  known  in  con- 
nection with  the  publication  of  the  J ournal  f iir  Chirurgie  und  Augetiheilkunde  with  von  Graefe, 
from  1820  on.  Albrecht  von  Graefe’s  Archiv  is  an  outgrowth  of  the  Journal  established  by  von 
Walther  and  the  elder  von  Graefe. 

^“Von  Walther’s  observations  are  discussed  by  Iwan  Bloch:  Ursprung  der  Syphilis, 
Abth.  II,  320-321, 1911. 


64 


PALEOPATHOLOGY 


destroyed  by  caries  in  another  ramus,  only  one  molar  process  retaining 
its  normal  form,  the  remaining  molars  being  loosened  and  the  alveolar 
wall  being  entirely  eaten  away  by  infection.  A mandible  and  a rib 
exhibit  roughened  carious  portions.  A radius  is  very  hght  and  its 
periosteal  lamellae  very  thin  with  numerous  exostoses  especially  well 
developed  at  the  point  of  insertion  of  the  biceps  muscle,  suggesting  a 
condition  similar  to  osteomalacia.  A diseased  cervical  vertebra  exhibits 
arthritic  lesions  similar  to  those  of  man.  So  that  in  these  eleven 
described  pathological  bones  the  following  lesions  are  evident:  necrosis, 
ankylosis,  caries,  exostosis,  production  of  new  bony  substance,  hyper- 
trophy, atrophy  and  arthritides.*’’ 

The  majority  of  the  lesions  described  by  von  Walther  are  attributed 
to  traumatic  influences,  but  some  of  them,  he  says,  are  due  to  the 
weather,  such  as  gout  and  other  arthritic  lesions.  The  concluding  pages 
of  this  extremely  interesting  essay  are  devoted  to  a philosophical  discus- 
sion of  the  nature  and  origin  of  disease.  Von  Walther  concludes: 

We  have  no  historical  data  to  prove  how  old  disease  is  nor  when  it  first  attacked 
the  poor,  sinful,  human  race.  In  every  case  disease  is  the  fault  of  inheritance,  and 
since  they  are  visited  upon  the  sons  and  daughters  because  of  the  sins  of  their 
fathers,  they  are  true  sins  of  inheritance. 

The  contributions  of  P.  C.  Schmerling  (1835)  to  the  early  history 
of  the  human  race  were  slow  in  receiving  the  credit  due  them.  It  was 
only  after  many  years  of  arduous  work  that  he  succeeded  in  convincing 
his  colleagues  of  the  truth  of  his  remarkable  discovery  of  a paleolithic 
type  of  man  in  the  caverns  in  the  province  of  Liege.  Even  such  a clear 
thinker  and  open  minded  man  as  Sir  Charles  Lyell  (1867)  was  loath 
to  accept  the  far-reaching  discovery  of  Schmerling  even  after  he  had 
visited  the  caves  in  Belgium  in  which  the  discoveries  were  made.  His 
work,  however,  has  long  since  received  its  deserved  place  in  the  annals 
of  science  and  his  conclusions  widely  accepted.  How  he  worked  and 
sought  new  evidences  is  told  by  Lyell,  Keith  (1916),  and  Osborn  (1916), 
as  well  as  by  many  other  writers  on  the  antiquity  of  man. 

Schmerling’s  discoveries  were  not  confined  to  ancient  human  re- 
mains but  he  also  discussed  the  significance  of  various  lesions  found  on 
the  fossil  bones  of  extinct  mammals  which  were  mingled  in  the  caverns 
with  the  remains  of  ancient  man.  His  studies  resulted  in  one  of  the 

The  specimens  described  by  von  Walther  were  discovered  by  Sack  in  1824  in  the  caves 
near  Iserlohn,  Prussia  and  had  been  briefly  noted  by  Nbggerath  in:  Kastner’s  Archivfiirdie 
gesamte  Naturlehre,  Bd.  II,  Heft  3,  Niimberg  1824,  p.  324,  who  says:  “So  far  as  I am  aware 
fossil  bones  showing  pathological  lesions  have  never  before  been  described.” 


HISTORICAL  SKETCH  AND  TIME  RATIOS 


65 


earliest  memoirs  on  paleopathology  (1835).  He  reviewed,  in  this  con- 
tribution, a part  of  the  pre-existing  hterature  on  paleopathology  and 
spoke  of  the  importance  of  the  new  science.  He  also  added  to  the 
literature  by  describing  various  pathological  lesions  on  the  bones  of 
Pleistocene  mammals  from  the  caves  of  Belgium.  He  published  some 
figures  of  the  lesions  studied,  which  are  commented  upon  by  Mayer. 
Schmerhng  closes  this  early  memoir  on  paleopathology  by  remarking: 

It  is  evident  that  the  majority  of  the  fossil  bones  exhibiting  pathological  lesions 
belong  to  the  bear,  and  when  one  examines  the  kinds  of  afliiction  which  have  altered 
their  structure,  he  is  convinced  that  these  pathological  bones  are  for  the  most  part 
due  to  mechanical,  external  causes.  Fractures,  caries,  necroses  are  the  diseases  which 
are  most  common.  Other  bones,  however,  show  lesions  which  do  not,  apparently, 
belong  to  these  types  of  disease. 

One  of  the  most  important  of  the  early  memoirs  devoted  to  the  study 
of  paleopathology  is  that  of  Dr.  Mayer  (1854).  In  this  memoir  he 
reviews  nearly  all  of  the  pre-existing  hterature  on  the  subject  and  gives 
a brief  description  and  a list  of  twenty-four  bones  of  bears  and  hons, 
showing  evidences  of  disease.  He  figures  several  of  these  in  a beautiful 
hthographic  plate.  These  figures  have  been  copied  and  reproduced 
herewith.  Plate  VIII.  They  illustrate  lesions  in  the  skeleton  of  the 
cave  bear  {Ursus  spelaeus)  from  the  Pleistocene. 

This  memoir  is  especially  useful  in  that  it  points  out  the  majority 
of  the  pre-existing  literature  on  the  subject  and  gives,  from  a medical 
viewpoint,  the  value  of  the  evidence  paleontology  may  afford  toward 
the  history  of  disease.  Mayer  concludes: 

A general  survey  of  the  pathological  lesions  on  the  diseased  bones  of  the  cave 
bears  described  herewith  shows  that  these  lesions  are  the  result  of  an  inner  consti- 
tutional weakness  which  has  been  more  or  less  modified  by  external  injurious  in- 
fluences which  have  called  out  this  morbid  diathesis,  or  else  they  are  the  results  of 
traumata  or  other  injurious  processes.  The  fractures,  caries,  and  injuries  to  the 
teeth  are  to  be  regarded  as  the  results  of  blows,  accidents,  wounds  received  in  the 
daily  hfe  of  the  animal.  The  healing  power  of  nature  was  as  potent,  at  this  time,  as 
in  all  later  periods  of  animal  creation,  as  is  evidenced  by  the  fact  that  fractures  of 
the  bones  heal  either  neatly  and  completely,  or  else  they  become  infected  and  heal 
with  the  formation  of  considerable  callus  and  some  necrosis  and  exostoses  of  the 
bone. 

Apparently  the  first  time  the  attention  of  a trained  pathologist  was 
called  to  the  subject  of  paleopathology  was  when  Virchow,  in  1870, 
remarked  to  the  Ethnological  Society  of  Berlin,  in  connection  with  the 
discussion  of  the  nature  of  the  Pleistocene  bones  of  the  caves  of  West- 
phalia: 

I should  Like  to  remark  in  passing  that  while  in  Balve  I saw  a dorsal  vertebra 
of  a cave  bear  which  has  been  greatly  deformed  by  a bony  mass  due  to  spondylitis 
deformans. 


66 


PALEOPATHOLOGY 


This  observation  was  the  only  published  result  of  Virchow’s^ 
(Figure  7)  interest  in  the  subject  until  the  publication  of  his  paper  in 
1895,  when  he  further  discussed  and  figured  the  lesions  on  the  bones  of 
the  Pleistocene  animals  inhabiting  the  caves  of  Prussia  and  surrounding 
regions.  Since  this  essay  constitutes  the  first,  and  thus  far  the  only, 
attempt  by  a trained  pathologist  to  discuss  the  nature  of  the  diseased 
bones  of  fossil  animals  it  has  been  thought  worth  while  to  give  a trans- 
lation of  his  essay,  and  to  reproduce  the  figures  (Plate  VIII)  which 
accompanied  it. 

Director  Voss  was  kind  enough,  in  his  visit  to  the  exhibition  in  Prague,  to  exam- 
ine the  diseased  bones  of  the  Moravian  bears  which  are  to  be  found  in  that  city. 
Through  the  kindness  of  Dr.  J.  Matiegka  and  Mr.  J.  Knies  I received  several 
specimens  of  diseased  bones  from  the  diluvium  of  Sloup  and  Sosuska  in  Moravia. 

The  majority  of  the  ursine  bones  I have  been  able  to  compare  with  the  bones  of 
recent  bears  in  the  anatomical  collection  and  I was  impressed  by  the  enormous 
dimensions  by  which  the  ancient  Ursus  spelaeus  differs  from  the  modern  bear. 

With  the  exception  of  one  vertebra  from  Sosuska  all  of  the  bones  are  altered 
by  disease,  most  of  them  in  the  manner  which  I had  first  observed  among  West- 
phalian vertebrae  of  bears  and  which  I had  designated  according  to  analogy  with 
human  pathology,  as  arthritis  deformans.  Later,  as  such  conditions  appeared  very 
abundant,  I have  simply  used  the  term  “cave-gout.” 

I must,  however,  emphasize  an  essential  difference  from  the  arthritis  deformans 
of  human  beings,  as  the  excellent  Moravian  collection  presented  it  to  me.  The 
disease  in  human  beings  especially  attacks  the  joints.  The  surfaces  of  the  joints 
become  ulcerated  and  later  undergo  eburnation,  while  new  bony  masses  proliferate 
freely  on  the  circumference,  at  the  end  of  the  bones.  This  is  not  the  case  as  a rule 
with  the  bones  of  the  bears,  in  which  the  bulk  of  the  proliferation  rests  much  more 
upon  the  diaphyses  or  upon  other  apophyses.  The  vertebra  from  Sloup  . . . has 
a large  rough  proliferation  at  the  apex  of  one  of  the  transverse  processes,  while  the 
body  of  the  bone  and  the  other  apophyses  are  entirely  free  from  such  growth  (Fig.  i) 
(Plate  VIII).  Only  one  phalanx  (Fig.  d-e)  is  irregularly  bulged  at  its  proximal  end  by 
huge  osteophytes,  but  its  joint  surface  is  quite  free,  and  in  the  interior  a large 
medullary  cavity  has  developed. 

The  other  long  bones  display  on  the  shaft  diffuse  distensions  or  irregularly 
knobby  surfaces,  which  in  human  beings  we  should  designate  simply  as  hyper-  or 
periostosis.  These  conditions  are,  however,  nonexistent  as  a rule  in  human  beings, 
although  they  are  not  an  infrequent  accompanying  S}'mptom  of  constitutional 
syphilis,  being,  in  fact,  so  usual  that  a short  time  ago  in  a report  on  bone  s}-philis, 
I cited  the  bones  of  the  bear  as  a parallel.  These  deformities,  because  of  their  wide 
distribution,  point  to  a possibility  that  a constitutional  disease  is  involved. 

Only  one  radius  shows  evidences  of  local  infection  (Fig.  b).  This  is  a very  large 

^ Rudolf  Ludwig  Karl  Virchow,  German  Pathologist  and  Anthropologist,  1821-1902.  He 
may  justly  be  regarded  as  the  founder  of  Paleopathology,  although  the  term  was  not  suggested 
until  1914  by  Ruffer,  44  years  after  Virchow  had  made  his  initial  contribution  to  the  science. 
His  observations  on  the  pathology  of  Pithecanthropus,  the  Neanderthal  man,  the  fossil  bones 
of  cave  bears  and  his  interest  in  evidences  of  pre-Columbian  and  prehistoric  sj'philis  on  ancient 
bones  entitle  him  to  a high  place  in  the  historj'  of  paleopathology.  His  high  rank  as  a patholo- 
gist gives  his  observations  on  ancient  pathology  greater  weight. 


HISTORICAL  SKETCH  AND  TIME  RATIOS 


67 


bone  of  about  200  mm.  length,  the  joints  of  which  are  free.  Almost  the  entire 
diaphysis  is  bulged  out,  so  that  the  middle  is  most  distended  and  the  shaft  appears 
spindle-shaped.  Over  a large  part  of  this  surface  there  is  a carious  roughening 
of  90  mm.  length,  which  is  so  hollowed  out  in  the  middle  that  the  compact  layer  of 
the  bone  cortex  is  bared.  Around  this  ulcerous  surface  the  bone  is  covered  with 
strong,  hard,  although  somewhat  porous  growths,  which  are  drawn  about  the  bone 
posteriorly,  thus  leaving  one-third  of  the  circumference  free.  Through  these 
growths  run  wide,  flat  vascular  spaces. 

I have  indicated  in  my  paper  on  syphilis  that  the  majority  of  evidences  that 
have  been  interpreted  in  America  to  denote  the  existence  of  pre-Columbian  syphilis, 
from  the  condition  of  many  bones  from  “prehistoric”  graves,  concern  no  other 
deformities  than  the  ones  we  find  here  among  the  cave  bears.  The  explanation, 
however,  in  the  case  of  the  cave  bears,  is  quite  clear  that  primitive  injuries  are 
responsible,  either  wounds  received  in  fighting  or  accidental  traumata. 

Among  the  specimens  there  is  a rib  (Fig.  c,  Plate  VIII),  the  fractured  zone 
being  surrounded  by  periosteal  callus. 

In  his  paper  on  the  history  of  syphilis  Virchow  compared  more  fully 
the  above  described  lesions  in  the  skeletons  of  cave  bears  with  the  bony 
lesions  of  syphilis,  concluding  with  the  statement : 

But  if  we  may  assume  with  certainty  that  the  bears  of  past  ages  had  no  spe- 
cific infection  and  nevertheless  suffered  such  diseases,  we  must  also  concede  the  possi- 
bility that  in  the  case  of  ancient  man  a similar  element  entered  into  consideration, 
as  with  the  bears,  and  that  this  sort  of  hypertrophy  and  deformation  and  this  form 
of  caries  and  hyperostosis  need  not  arouse  the  suspicion  of  syphilis. 

Virchow  thus  maintained  that  the  caries  sicca  of  prehistoric  and  pre- 
Columbian  bones  was  not  true  syphilis  but  either  identical  with  the 
arthritis  deformans  (cave  gout)  of  old  cave  bears,  or  else  caused  by 
plants  and  insects,  which  would  eliminate  the  question  of  prehistoric 
syphilis  in  Europe. 

There  are  a number  of  other  discussions  of  the  pathological  condi- 
tions of  Pleistocene  vertebrates  but  sufficient  has  been  said  in  the 
preceding  pages  to  show  the  trend  of  the  studies.  Naturally  as  our 
knowledge  of  ancient  life  developed  the  pathological  conditions  of  an- 
cient animal  remains  were  noted,  although  nothing  of  importance 
appeared  until  the  opening  of  the  twentieth  century. 

Hatcher  made  one  of  the  first  observations  in  America  on  the  dis- 
eased state  of  fossil  reptilian  bones,  when  in  describing  the  osteology  of 
one  of  the  gigantic  dinosaurs,  Diplodocus,  he  remarks : 

Caudals  two  and  three  are  co-ossified  (pathologically)  by  their  centra.  In  No. 
94  caudals  seventeen  and  eighteen  are  similarly  united.  (Fig.  a,  Plate  X.) 

A species  of  dog  from  the  Oligocene,  Daphenus  felinus,  was  also 
noted  by  Hatcher  (1901)  to  possess  on  the  internal  side  of  each  radius 
a “remarkable  exostosis.”  He  says: 


68 


PALEOPATHOLOGY 


On  the  inner  side  at  the  distal  end  of  either  radius  there  is  a considerable  growth 
of  diseased  bone,  or  exostosis  mentioned  above.  They  are  remarkably  similar  on 
either  side. 

Mr.  E.  S.  Riggs  has  called  the  writer’s  attention  to  a similar,  apparently 
pathological,  lesion  on  the  limbs  of  a small  carnivore  from  the  Miocene 
of  Nebraska,  preserved  in  the  Field  Museum  of  Natural  History. 

Schlosser  (1909)  has  written  a very  interesting  account  of  the  geol- 
ogy of  the  caves  of  Kufstein  and  their  contents,  with  an  account  of 
his  exploration  and  results  of  his  discoveries  of  the  remains  of  human 
and  animal  forms.  Among  these  remains  he  found  several  diseased 
bones,  which,  however,  do  not  differ  essentially  from  those  described 
above  by  Virchow.  The  pathological  material,  he  says,  is  fairly  abun- 
dant, most  of  them  representing  cave  bears.  (Plate  VIII.) 

Additional  interesting  evidences  of  disease  among  the  Pleistocene 
mammals  of  Austria  are  suggested  by  the  discoveries  mentioned  by 
Professor  0.  Abel,  in  a letter  under  date  of  April  21st,  1922.  I quote 
the  following  account: 

Mit  aufrichtigem  Interesse  babe  ich  Ihrem  Briefe  entnommen,  dass  Sie  eine 
Studie  ueber  Palaopathologie  fertig  gestellt  haben.  Ich  erwarte  diese  Arbeit  mit 
grosster  Spannung  und  zwar  aus  folgenden  Griinden.  Seit  dem  Herbste  1920  sind 
wir  mit  der  Ausgrabung  der  “Drachenhohle”  in  Steiermark  beschaftigt,  die  zum 
Zwecke  der  Gewinnung  von  fossilem  Guano  (den  ich  wegen  seiner  Herkunft 
“Chiropterit”  genannt  haben)  vom  Staate  in  die  Wege  geleitet  worden  ist;  da  wir 
ja  infolge  der  elenden  Finanzen  nicht  in  der  Lage  sind,  auslandischen  Kunst- 
diinger,  Salpeter  etc.  fiir  unsere  Felder  zu  beziehen,  so  miissen  wir  nach  solcher 
Aushilfe  schreiten,  wenn  unsere  Felder  etwas  tragen  sollen,  denn  der  Viehstand  ist 
zu  gering.  Diese  Ausgrabungen  haben  uns  nun  in  die  Lage  gebracht,  eine  grosse 
Menge  fossiler  Reste  aufzusammeln;  ich  habe  die  Oberaufsicht  iiber  diese  Auf- 
sammlungen,  die  in  meinem  Institute  zusammenlaufen.  Unter  den  zahlreichen 
zum  grossen  Teile  hochinteressanten  Funden  eiszeitlicher  Saugetiere  und  mensch- 
licher  Kulturreste  aus  der  Mousterienzeit  sind  nun  sehr  viele  pathologische  Knoch- 
en,  Schiidel  und  Zahne,  deren  Bearbeitung  ich  fiir  eine  in  Aussicht  genommene  Mon- 
ographie,  fiir  welche  ich  Geldmittel  sammle,  vorbereite.  Es  liegen  nicht  nur  von 
Ursus  spelaeus  sehr  zahlreiche  pathologische  Falle,  daunter  viele  traumatische 
Erscheinungen,  vor,  sondern  auch  von  Eelis  spelaea  und,  was  sehr  sonderbar  ist, 
auch  an  Resten  des  Steinbocks,  der  ja  gewiss  kein  Hohlenbewohner  war  und  dessen 
Knochenkrankheiten  daher  auch  nicht  mit  dem  Leben  in  Hohlen  in  Verbindung 
gebracht  werden  konnen.  Ein  besonders  interessanter  FaU  ist  einer  von  Myositis 
ossificans  an  der  Unterarmknochen  eines  Hohlenbaren,  eine  Elrankheit,  die  erst 
wahrend  des  Krieges  genauer  studiert  worden  ist  und  eine  Verknockerung  von 
Muskeln  und  Sehnen  zeigt.  Eine  sehr  grosse  Zahl  pathologischer  Ealle  betrifft 
das  Gebiss  und  ich  glaube  dass  noch  nie  so  viele  pathologische  FaUe  in  einer  einzi- 
gen  Fauna  angetroffen  worden  sind. 

An  early  indication  of  giantism  as  seen  in  the  hy-pertrophied 
skeleton  of  an  extinct  animal  was  described  by  Volz  (1902)  in  a primitive 


HISTORICAL  SKETCH  AND  TIME  RATIOS 


69 


plesiosaur,  Proneusticosaurus,  from  the  Lias  of  Silesia.  This  condition 
(Plate  X,  b)  (Abel,  1912)  has  been  called  pachyostosis,  and  a diagnosis 
of  a diseased  condition  is  made  with  the  caution  that  the  enlargement 
of  the  bones  might  be  due  to  the  supporting  of  some  heavy  armor. 
However,  no  armor  is  known  in  either  the  plesiosaurs  or  nothosaurs, 
so  this  may  be  fairly  taken  as  an  indication  of  giantism,  millions  of 
years  ago. 

The  effect  of  an  amputation  on  the  leg  of  a giant  turtle  (Plate  IX, 
c)  is  described  by  Wieland  (1909)  after  studying  the  skeleton  of  Archelon 
ischyros,  from  the  Cretaceous  of  South  Dakota,  as  follows : 

On  the  right  side,  the  femur  is  also  present,  with  the  proximal  two-thirds  of  both 
tibia  and  fibula,  which  end  in  obliquely  bitten  off  but  healed  surfaces.  Both  the 
femur  and  those  mutilated  elements  are  lighter  and  several  centimeters  shorter 
than  the  corresponding  bones  of  the  left  side.  In  short,  the  evidence  is  conclusive 
and  unmistakable  that  this  animal  had  its  right  flipper  bitten  off  when  still  young, 
and  that  as  a result  of  this  injury  the  remaining  portion  of  the  flipper  was  more  or 
less  arrested  in  growth  by  disuse.  Such  accidents  are  now  and  then  noted  in  fossils. 

Even  the  heavily  armored  and  gigantic  three-horned  dinosaurs 
(Plate  IX,  a)  of  the  Upper  Cretaceous  were  subjected  to  injury  and 
disease  as  indicated  by  Lull  (1907)  in  describing  the  skull  of  Triceratops 
serratus  from  Wyoming,  where  he  says: 

The  right  frontal  is  pierced  at  its  posterior  border  by  a large  foramen,  the 
posterior  border  of  which  is  formed  by  the  postfrontal.  This  foramen  is  absent 
on  the  opposite  side,  and  it  is  probably  pathologic. 

The  skull  also  exhibits  a broken  and  healed  right  ramus  of  the  jaw, 
and  a broken  and  healed  distal  tip  of  the  right  horn  core  (Fig.  a,  Plate 
IX). 

Other  and  more  extensive  injuries  to  the  dinosaurs  have  been 
described  by  Gilmore  (1912)  among  the  skeletons  of  which  he  found  in 
the  U.  S.  National  Museum,  a scapula  of  A llosaurus  fragilis  which  had 
been 

injured  in  life  and  the  subsequent  healing  produced  great  deformation  of  the  bone. 
This  pathologic  condition  caused  a widening  of  the  blade  that  would  be  entirely 
misleading  as  to  its  true  form  had  not  the  opposite  scapula  been  present. 

A full  discussion  of  the  injured  ilium  of  Camptosaurus  is  given  in 
Chapter  VII  under  “Necrosis,”  where  an  illustration  of  the  lesion  is 
also  to  be  found. 

A curiously  deformed  phalanx  of  a camel  (Fig.  b,  Plate  IX)  from 
the  Pleistocene  of  Texas  is  described  by  Troxell  (1915) : 

Much  has  been  said  about  the  effect  of  diseases  in  causing  the  extermination  of 
races.  The  interesting  pathologic  phalanx  (Fig.  b)  is  probably  a result  of  exostosis 


70 


PALEOPATHOLOGY 


or  uncontrolled  deposition  of  bony  material.  The  bone  was  not  broken  because  it 
shows  the  same  length  as  the  normal  one  of  the  same  size.  Possibly  the  disease 
which  caused  the  death  of  the  individual  also  contributed  to  the  destruction  of  the 
species. 

Osborn  described  (1895)  and  figured  the  skeleton  of  an  early  ungu- 
late, Titanoterium  rohustum,  showing  a fractured  and  healed  rib  of  the 
right  side.  A photograph  of  this  skeleton  and  a detailed  picture  of  the 
callus  is  given  elsewhere  (Plate  XX). 

The  most  extensive  account,  and  one  which  may  be  regarded  as  a 
resume,  is  given  by  Abel  (1912)  under  the  heading  “Traces  of  Fights” 
and  “Bone  Pathology.”  The  following  is  a free  translation  of  Abel’s 
discussion : 

Among  the  males  of  living  mammals,  ferocious  encounters  often  take  place  for 
the  female,  and  the  female  herself  is  often  injured.  Similar  encounters  are  indicated 
among  the  fossil  mammals  and  reptiles,  and  it  is  especially  evident  among  the  cave 
bears.  In  some  of  these  animals,  however,  it  is  not  always  certain  whether  the 
lesions  are  due  to  these  causes  or  to  injuries  inflicted  by  the  early  cave  men.  Such 
wounds  are  frequently  present  and  are  often  nicely  healed  with  a small  amount  of 
callus.  Healed  fractures  are  found  in  the  snouts  of  Tertiary  toothed  whales  from 
the  upper  Miocene  of  Antwerp.  These  clearly  indicate  that  the  broken  bones  had 
healed  during  life. 

Similar  healed  fractures  have  been  observed  in  a Liassic  ichthyosaur,  and  in  a 
mosasaur,  Flioplatecarpus  Marshi,  from  the  Cretaceous  of  Belgium,  there  are 
several  ribs  which  have  been  broken  and  healed  during  life.  A specimen  of  Mosa- 
saurus  giganteus  in  the  Museum  at  Brussels  shows  a right  mandibular  ramus  which 
has  been  broken  and  healed. 

It  is  evident  that  the  injured  skuU  of  Mylodon  rohustiis,  described  by  Owen  in 
1842  is  to  be  regarded  as  a healed  injury  which  the  animal  had  suffered,  possibly 
during  the  pairing  season,  or  by  the  fall  of  a tree.  There  were  no  creatures  hving  in 
South  America  at  that  time  sufficiently  large  to  have  inflicted  the  wound  on  the  huge 
gravigrade.  It  is  hardly  probable  that  this  wound  could  have  been  inflicted  by  the 
saber  toothed  tiger.  The  healing  of  this  wound  is  an  interesting  indication  of  the 
amount  of  resistance  which  these  huge  animals  possessed. 

One  of  the  most  interesting  types  of  injuries  which  has  resulted  in  a periosteal 
exostosis  is  that  found  on  the  ancient  soltaire  {Pezophaps  solitaria),  a bird  whose 
bones  are  found  abundantly  in  a fossil  and  subfossil  condition  on  the  island  of 
Rodriguez  near  Mauritius.  The  zoological  museum  at  Cambridge,  England,  pos- 
sesses great  numbers  of  more  less  complete  skeletons  of  this  remarkable  bird  and 
the  lesions  have  been  described  in  full  by  Newton. 

Rickets  has  been  observed  in  apes  from  the  Eg}-ptian  mummy  graves,  but  this 
disease  has  not  yet  been  clearly  observed  among  fossil  vertebrates,  although  Vir- 
chow said  that  the  shortened  ulna  of  the  Neanderthal  man  was  due  to  rickets. 

Fossil  bones  often  show  certain  changes  in  form  which  are  to  be  regarded  as 
examples  of  pachyostosis.  These  enlargements  may  be  regarded  as  of  functional 
importance  as  in  the  support  of  a heavy  dermal  armor. 

Hypertrophy  is  also  quite  evident  in  a primitive  sirenian,  Eoiherium  aegyptia- 
ctim  from  the  middle  Eocene  of  Egypt,  the  anterior  portion  of  the  thorax  and  scap- 
ula are  enlarged.  In  Eosiren  lihyca  the  posterior  ribs  and  vertebrae  are  enlarged. 


HISTORICAL  SKETCH  AND  TIME  RATIOS 


71 


Hyptertrophy  is  also  evident  in  Pachycanthus  suessi,  an  early  whale  described  by 
Brandt.  Pachyostosis  is  also  seen  in  a plesiosaur,  and  in  a fossil  fish. 

Diseases  of  the  mandible  due  to  fistulae  are  of  rare  occurrence,  but  such  a case 
is  evident  in  the  skuU  of  Eosiren  from  Egypt  which  shows  a dental  fistula  which 
has  produced  an  extensive  necrosis. 

Caries  of  the  teeth  is  often  observed  in  the  cave  bears  and  it  has  otherwise  been 
seen  in  a mosasaur,  and  in  a Pleistocene  mastodon. 

Skeletons  of  ancient  animals  which  show  extensive  ravages  of  dis- 
ease are  rarely  found  but  Auer  (1909)  has  discussed  the  paleontology 
of  a crocodile  (Plate  X,  c,  d)  from  the  Oxford  Clay  (Jurassic)  of  England 
and  has  shown  the  presence  of  numerous  changes  due  to  disease.  The 
focus  of  infection  seems  to  have  been  in  the  pelvis  and  from  there 
spread  by  metastasis  to  other  parts  of  the  body  involving  the  left 
femur,  the  sacral  vertebrae  and  the  palate.  This  is  one  of  the  few 
instances  in  which  disease,  in  ancient  time,  has  threatened  the  life  of  the 
individual.  We  cannot  doubt  that  the  crocodile  died  from  the  severe 
infection  evidenced  on  the  skeleton.  Since  this  is  the  most  serious 
pathological  condition  thus  far  described  I consider  it  important  to 
quote  the  exact  words  Auer  used  in  describing  the  condition;  which  he 
gave  under  the  heading: 

PATHOLOGISCHE  ERSCHEINUNGEN  BEI  METRIORHYNCHUS 
CFR.  MORELI  DESL. 

Von  besonderem  Interesse  1st  bei  den  vorliegenden  Objekt  das  Auftreten  von 
pathologischen  Erscheinungen,  wie  sie  bei  diesen  robusten  Tieren  selten  zur  Beo- 
bachtung  gelangen.  Diese  Erscheinungen  machen  sich  besonders  an  den  Palatina, 
an  den  beiden  Femora  und  an  dem  einzigen  erhaltenen  Wirbel,  einem  Sakralwirbel, 
geltend  und  aussern  sich  an  manchen  Stellen  der  genannten  Knochen  in  einer  Re- 
duktion,  an  anderen  in  einer  eigentumlichen  Wucherung  der  Knochensubstanz. 

Auf  der  Mitte  der  Unterseite  der  Palatina  is  eine  Stelle  in  sonderbaren  Weise 
differenziert  durch  ein  Art  von  Skulptur,  die  aus  regellosen  W iilsten,  Lochern  und 
Griibchen  besteht,  ein  Verhalten,  das  sonst  bei  Krokodilen  nicht  angetroffen  wird, 
und  das  ohne  Zweifel  im  Zusammenhang  steht  mit  den  pathogenen  Veranderungen, 
welche  die  gieich  zu  besprechenden  Knochen  zeigen. 

Das  rechte  Femur  ist  seiner  Form  nach  normal  gebaut,  zeigt  aber  unterhalb 
des  Caput  femoris  eine  eigentiimliche  Corrosion,  und  am  distalen  Ende  ist  der 
Condylus  internus  reduziert. 

Das  linke  Femur  weicht  in  seiner  Gestalt  vom  normalen  Typus  ganz  wesentlich 
ab:  der  Gelenkkopf  hat  eine  bedeutende  Schrumpfung  erlitten,  und  die  ehemals 
kugehge  Gelenkflache  ist  deformiert.  Unterhalb  des  Gelenkkopfes  zeigt  der  Ober- 
schenkelknochen  einen  anomal  geringen  Durchmesser,  und  auf  der  Externseite  des 
Knochens  erhebt  sich  eine  Leiste.  An  der  Stelle,  wo  sich  der  sonst  unbedeutende 
Trochanter  femoris  befindet,  hat  eine  betrachltiche  Wucherung  der  Knochensub- 
stanz stattgefunden,  die  eine  starke  Verdickung  des  Knochens  herbeif  iihrte.  An 
dieser  Stelle  ist  der  Knochen  sehr  unregelmassig  gestaltet:  es  findet  sich  hier  eine 
Menge  von  grosseren  und  kleineren  Lochern  und  Grubchen.  Die  Diaphyse  des 


72 


PALEOPATHOLOGY 


linken  Femurs  ist  dicker  als  die  des  rechten  und  dafiir  nicht  so  breit.  Zum  Ver- 
gleich  mogen  folgende  Massangaben  dienen: 

rechts  links 


Breite  des  Femurs  5 cm.  unterhalb  des  Gelenkkopfes 2,3  cm  4,4  cm 

Dicke  des  Femurs  5 cm.  unterhalb  des  Gelenkopfes 2,3  cm  3,6  cm 

Breite  14  cm  unterhalb  des  Gelenkkopfes 4,5  cm  4,1cm 

Dicke  14  cm  unterhalb  des  Gelenkkopfes 2,1  cm  3,6  cm 

Breite  17  cm  unterhalb  des  Gelenkkopfes 4,2  cm  3,8  cm 

Dicke  17  cm  unterhalb  des  Gelenkkopfes 2,1  cm  2,8  cm 


Gegen  das  distale  Gelenkende  zu  wird  der  Knochen  wieder  rauher;  die  Gelenk- 
flachen  fiir  die  Tibia  und  Fibula  sind  verdreht  und  ganz  verkruppelt.  Zwischen 
den  beiden  Condylen  befindet  sich  ein  tiefes  Loch.  Die  Lange  der  beiden  Femora 
ist  so  ziemlich  gleich  und  betragt  32,5  cm. 

Auch  der  Sakralwirbel  weist  bedeutende  Veranderungen  pathogener  Natur  auf: 
der  Wirbelkorper  ist  betrachtlich  verdickt,  an  der  Aussenseite  unregelmassig  geraut 
und  mit  zahlreichen,  ziemlich  tiefen  Lochern  bedeckt.  Der  Dornfortsatz  mit  den 
Zygapophysen  und  ein  Sakralfortsatz  sind  abgebrochen.  Der  machtig  verdickte 
Wirbelkorper  steht  in  seltsamen  Gegensatz  zu  dem  ausserordentlich  schwachen, 
nach  unten  gebogenen  Processus  sacralis.  Auf  einer  Seite  ist  die  Endflache  des 
Wirbels  erhalten,  und  zwar  die,  welche  sich  an  den  anderen  Sakralwirbel  anlegte, 
wie  aus  ihrer  flachen  Beschaffenheit  hervorgeht.  Von  der  anderen  Endflache  aus 
ist  der  Wirbelkorper  voUstandig  ausgehohlt. 


TABULAR  REVIEW  OF  LITERATURE  DEALING  WITH  PALEOPATHOLOGY 


Date 

Author 

Animals 

Aeflicted 

Diseases 

Geological  Age 
Locality 

1774 

Esper 

Cave-bear 

Osteosarcoma  (?) 

Pleistocene 

Germany 

1810 

Goldfuss 

Hyaena 

Fracture 

Pleistocene 

Gaylenreuth 

1820 

Cuvier 

Hyaena 

Fracture 

Pleistocene 

1820 

Cuvier 

Anoplotherium 

Fracture 

Oligocene 

1823 

Clift 

Bovine  animal 

Ossific  inflamma- 
tion 

Pleistocene 

England 

1825 

Walther 

Cave-bear; 

cave-lion 

Spondylitis  defor- 
mans, caries,  pyor- 
rhea, exostoses,  tu- 
berculosis. 

Pleistocene 

Germany 

1828 

Soemmering 

Hyaena 

Fracture 

Pleistocene 

1835 

Schmerling 

Cave-bears 

Various 

1842 

Owen 

Mylodon  (ground 
sloth) 

Fracture,  necroses 

Pleistocene 

Argentine 

1854 

Mayer 

Cave-bear, 

cave-lion 

Spondylitis  defor- 
mans, caries,  frac- 
ture and  callus, 
necrosis 

Pleistocene 

Bonn 

1858 

Schaafhau- 

sen 

Paleolithic  man 

Fracture,  caries  (?) 

Pleistocene 

Neanderthal 

1870 

Newton  and 
Parker 

Birds 

Osteoperiostitis 

Pleistocene 

Rodriguez 

Date 

1870 

1880 

1881 

1881 

1882 

1885 

1886 

1895 

1896 

1898 

1900 

1901 

1901 

1903 

1904 

1905 

1907 

1907 

1908 

1909 

1909 

1909 


HISTORICAL  SKETCH  AND  TIME  RATIOS 


73 


Author 

Animats 

Afflicted 

Diseases 

Geological  Age 
Locality 

Virchow 

Cave-bears 

Spondylitis  defor- 
mans 

Pleistocene 

Westphalia 

Etheridge 

Crinoids 

Parasitism 

Carboniferous 

England 

Langdon 

Pre-Columbian  In- 
dians of  N.  A. 

Traumatism 

Recent 

Le  Baron 

Neolithic  man  of 
Europe 

Fracture  and  cal- 
lus; arthritides, 

syphilis?,  ulcera- 
tion, scoliosis,  caries, 
cancer 

Recent 

Fletcher 

Prehistoric  man 

Trepanation,  trau- 
matism 

Recent 

Graff 

Crinoids 

Parasitism 

Carboniferous 

Leidy 

Mastodon 

Caries 

Pleistocene 

Florida 

Virchow 

Cave-bear  and 
cave-lion 

Arthritides,  hyper- 
trophy, caries,  frac- 
ture, osteomyelitis 

Pleistocene 

Prussia 

Virchow 

do 

do 

do 

Williston 

Mosasaur 

Osteoperiostitis 

Cretaceous 

Kansas 

Renault 

Fishes 

Bacteria,  fungi, 
caries 

Permian 

France 

Schwalbe 

Paleolithic  man 

Caries,  fracture 

Pleistocene 

Neanderthal 

Hatcher 

Dinosaur 

Co-ossification  of 
caudal  vertebrae 

Comanchean 

Wyoming 

Riggs 

Dinosaur 

Fracture  and  callus 
of  rib 

Comanchean 

Wyoming 

Parker 

Lansing  man 

Arthritis 

Recent 

Kansas 

Orton 

Mound  Builders 

Syphilis  and  other 
lesions 

Ohio  Valley 

Eliott- 

Smith 

Egyptians 

Numerous  diseases 

Recent 

Egypt 

LuU 

Dinosaur 

Fracture,  necrosis 

Cretaceous 

Wyoming 

Wood-Jones 

Egyptians 

Numerous  diseases 

Recent 

Egypt 

Auer 

Crocodile 

Necrosis  with  evi- 
dence of  metastasis 

Jurassic 

England 

Gilmore 

Dinosaur 

Tuberculous  necro- 
sis (?) 

Comanchean 

Wyoming 

Schlosser 

Cave-bear  and  as- 
sociated animals 

Necrosis,  spondyli- 
tis deformans  and 
other  arthritides 

Pleistocene 

Germany 

74 


PALEOPATHOLOGY 


Date 

Author 

Animals 

Afflicted 

Diseases 

Geological  Age 
Locality 

1909 

Stromer 

Crinoids 

Parasitism 

Carboniferous 

1909 

Shattock 

Pharaoh  of  Egypt 

Arterio-sclerosis 

Recent 

Egypt 

1909 

Wieland 

Turtle,  Dromocyon 

Fractures 

Cretaceous  & Eo- 
cene, Kansas  & 
Wyoming 

1911 

von  Huene 

Phytosaur 

Fracture,  necrosis, 

Triassic 

callus  in  snout 

Germany 

1911 

Merriam 

Saber-toothed  cat 

Various 

Pleistocene 

California 

1911 

Abel 

Review  of  literature 
on  Paleopathology 

1911-13 

Hrdlicka 

Pre-Columbian,  In- 

Various 

Recent  North  and 

dians  of  N.  A.  In- 
cas of  S.  A. 

South  America 

1911-13 

Ruffer 

Ancient  Egyptians 

Numerous  diseases 

Recent 

Egypt. 

1912 

Gilmore 

Dinosaur 

Necrosis 

Comanchean 

1912 

Raymond 

Neolithic  man 

Various 

Pleistocene? 

1913 

Fischer 

Paleolithic  man 

Various 

Pleistocene 

1915 

Troxell 

Camel 

Hypertrophy 

Pleistocene 

Texas 

1915 

Gilmore 

Dinosaur 

Fracture 

Comanchean 

Wyoming 

1915 

Walcott 

Algae 

Bacteria 

Algonkian 

Montana 

1916 

Moodie 

Review  of  literature 

1917 

Moodie 

Dinosaur 

Arthritides 

Comanchean 

Wyoming 

1917 

Klebs 

Chiefly  ancient 
Egyptian  (Review 
of  field  of  work). 

1918 

Moodie 

Dinosaurs  and  Mo- 

Fractures,  necro- 

Cretaceous 

sasaurs 

sis,  etc. 

1918 

Moodie 

Fossil  Vertebrates 

Opisthotonos 

Various 

1918 

Moodie 

Fossil  Animals 

General  Survey  of 
fossil  Pathology 

Various 

1918 

Moodie 

Ancient  man 

Various 

General 

1921 

Clarke 

Paleozoic  inverte- 
brates 

Dependence 

Paleozoic 

1921 

Ruffer 

Ancient  Eg>'ptians 

Collected  essays 

Recent 

Cotte  (1916)  has  studied  the  microscopical  anatomy  and  chemical 
analysis  of  mummified  tissues  from  Egj^t  and  North  America,  but 
has  added  nothing  new  to  the  knowledge  of  paleopathology. 

A 'discussion  of  the  studies  of  the  evidences  of  disease  among 
ancient  man  will  be  given  in  the  chapters  deahng  with  these  subjects. 


HISTORICAL  SKETCH  AND  TIME  RATIOS 


75 


NATURE  OF  ANCIENT  DISEASES 

The  pathological  conditions  of  the  early  vertebrates  do  not  indicate 
types  of  disease  which  differ  essentially  from  those  of  today.  Fractures 
in  the  skeletons  of  the  early  reptiles  were  almost  always  simple  frac- 
tures, because  the  bones  of  the  majority  of  ancient  reptiles  were  solid. 
Necroses,  arthritides,  osteomata,  and  other  hyperplasias  do  not  differ 
at  all  from  modern  lesions  of  the  same  type. 

The  nature  of  the  disease  among  ancient  animals,  it  is  thus  seen,  is 
not  to  be  sharply  differentiated  from  the  pathological  processes  which 
take  place  in  man  at  the  present  day.  Disease  originated  perhaps 
when  races  of  animals  began  to  go  toward  extinction,  but  much  work 
needs  yet  to  be  done  before  we  can  read  aright  the  history  of  disease  in 
the  skeletal  remains  of  animals  which  lived  and  died  many  millions  of 
years  ago. 

Conceivably  disease  may  be  regarded  as  a factor  in  natural  selection 
and  may  have  been  as  potent  in  raising  the  vitality  of  a persisting  spe- 
cies as  in  lowering  the  vitality  of  vanishing  forms. 

PERSISTENCE  OF  CERTAIN  TYPES  OF  DISEASE 

There  is  a very  interesting  parallel  which  can  be  drawn  from  the 
persistence  of  certain  forms  of  disease  and  species  of  animals  and  plants. 
Huxley  (1869)  many  years  ago  called  attention  to  the  persistence  of 
certain  species  and  types  of  animals  throughout  all  geologic  time  and  the 
writer  has  in  preparation  a study  of  the  persistence  of  anatomdcal  units 
of  structure  which  shows  that  nature  adopted  a few  fundamental  forms 
of  structure  in  the  beginning  of  vertebrate  life  and  has  simply  expanded 
and  modified  these  units  in  all  subsequent  development. 

In  the  history  of  disease  there  have  likewise  been  a few  forms  of 
disease  which  have  persisted  almost  unchanged  so  far  as  their  effects 
are  concerned.  Such  diseases  as  caries,  alveolar  osteitis,  various 
types  of  necroses  all  arose  early  in  the  history  of  vertebrate  life  and 
have  changed  but  little,  if  at  all,  in  subsequent  time. 

The  following  table  shows  the  time  of  occurrence  of  certain  patho- 
logical processes  and  such  data  of  later  persistence  as  the  meager  known 
records  will  allow. 


76 


PALEOPATHOLOGY 


Diseases 


Arthritis  deformans 

Malaria 

1 Exostoses 

1 Fractures  with  callus 

I Alveolar  Osteitis 

1 Opisthotonos 

Caries 

Anomalies 

1 Necroses 

1 Deforming  Arthritides 

1 Parasitism 

1 Dermoid  Cysts 

1 Spondylitis  Deformans 

1 Osteoperiostitis 

1 Osteosarcoma 

1 Osteoma 

Trephining 

\ Osteomalacia 

1 Syphilis 

Hemangioma 

Tuberculosis 

Actinomycosis  1 

Epochs 

Periods 

Recent 

Aztecs,  300-1521  a.d. 
Nahua 

Maya,  200  b.c.  ? 
1517  A.D. 

Inca,  1300  b.c.? 

(900  A.D.)- 
1532  A.D. 

N.  A.  Indians,  500- 
1492  A.D. 

Egyptians,  6000  b.c. 
-500  A.D. 

X 

X 

X 

X 

X 

X 

X 

X 

X 

X 

X 

X 

X 

X 

X 

X 

X 

X 

X 

X 

X 

X 

X 

X 

X 

X 

X 

> 

X 

X 

X 

X 

X 

> 

X 

Holo- 

zoic 

Neolithic 
3000-200  B.c. 
Paleolithic 
100,000-12,000  B.c. 

X 

X 

X 

X 

? 

X 

X 

X 

X 

X 

— 

Ceno- 

zoic 

Early  Pleistocene 

500,000-100,000  B.C. 

Pliocene 

Miocene 

Oligocene 

Eocene 

X 

X 

X 

X 

X 

X 

X 

X 

X 

X 

X 

X 

X 

X 

X 

X 

X 

X 

X 

X 

X 

X 

X 

X 

X 

Meso- 

zoic 

Cretaceous 

Comanchean 

X 

X 

X 

X 

X 

X 

X 

X 

X 

X 

X 

X 

X 

X 

X 

Jurassic 

Triassic 

X 

X 

X 

X 

— 

Paleo- 

zoic 

Permian 

Carboniferous 

Devonian 

Silurian 

Ordovician 

Cambrian 

X 

X 

X 

X 

— 

Proter- 

ozoic 

Algonkian 

Neo-Laurentian 

Arche- 

ozoic 

Paleo-Laurentian 

HISTORICAL  SKETCH  AND  TIME  RATIOS 


77 


MEASUREMENT  OF  GEOLOGIC  TIME 

The  methods  and  results  of  the  measurements  of  geologic  time 
have  recently  been  reviewed  by  Barrell  (1917).  The  results  will  be 
interesting  in  connection  with  the  statements  made  as  to  the  relative 
ages  of  different  pathological  processes.  It  will  thus  serve  as  a basis 
of  all  statements  of  age.  Barrell  gives  the  following  methods  which 
have  been  used  with  varying  results : 

1.  Measurements  of  time  based  on  erosion. 

2.  Evidence  chiefly  from  sedimentation. 

3.  Estimates  based  on  rhytlims  in  sedimentation. 

4.  Estimates  of  total  time  based  on  oceanic  salts. 

5.  Estimates  of  time  based  on  loss  of  primal  heat. 

6.  Measurements  of  time  on  the  basis  of  mammalian  evolution, 

7.  Measurements  of  time  based  on  radioactivity. 

The  earliest  estimate  of  the  magnitude  of  geologic  time,  based  on 
the  evidence  of  life  transformation  in  successive  periods  as  seen  in  the 
fossilized  animals,  was  made  by  Sir  Charles  Lyell  (1867)  who  stated 
that  20,000,000  years  were  demanded  for  a complete  change  in  the 
species  of  each  period,  and  since  there  were  in  his  estimation  twelve 
periods,  there  would  necessarily  be  demanded  240,000,000  years  for 
the  consummation  of  organic  evolution  since  the  opening  of  the  time 
when  organic  life  became  possible.  This  estimate  did  not  consider, 
however,  the  vast  stretches  of  time  which  preceded  the  first  recogniz- 
able beginnings  of  life.  Darwin  (1897)  thought  that  200,000,000  years 
was  not  enough  for  the  perfection  of  organic  evolution  as  he  saw  it. 
Huxley  (1869),  too,  regarded  the  testimony  of  the  rocks  as  being  indic- 
ative of  an  almost  indeterminable  time  which  could  only  be  appre- 
ciated by  breaking  it  up  into  periods. 

Lord  Kehdn  first  called  attention  to  an  apparently  erroneous  concep- 
tion on  the  part  of  the  geologists  in  that  the  high  internal  temperature 
of  the  earth,  increasing  inwards  as  it  does,  and  from  the  rate  of  loss  of 
its  heat,  fixed  a limit  to  the  planet’s  antiquity.  He  wished  the  geolo- 
gists to  be  content  with  some  twenty  millions  of  years. 

An  attempt  was  then  made  to  determine  the  length  of  the  Pleisto- 
cene to  be  used  as  a unit  of  time  for  comparative  measurements,  but  the 
results  varied  between  25,000  and  1,500,000  years.  The  latter  figure 
is  nearer  the  one  adopted  by  Penck  and  Matthew  (1914).  The  latter 
student  states  on  the  basis  of  his  studies  of  the  time  ratios  in  the  evolu- 
tion of  mammalian  phyla,  that  the  Cenozoic  is  about  one  hundred  times 


78 


PALEOPATHOLOGY 


as  long  as  the  Pleistocene.  He  regards  the  Mesozoic  as  four  times  as 
long  as  the  Cenozoic.  Adopting  500,000  years  for  the  Pleistocene  as  a 
unit,  on  the  basis  of  Matthew’s  estimates  we  would  have  the  following 
values: 

Pleistocene 500,000  Years 

Cenozoic 50,000,000  Years 

Mesozoic 200,000,000  Years 

These  estimates  gave  a higher  order  of  magnitude  than  had  before  been 
obtained,  but  are  strongly  supported  by  Barrell  as  being  of  the  right 
order  of  magnitude.  The  evidence  from  radioactivity  suggests  that 

60.000. 000  may  be  granted  for  the  Tertiary  (Cenozoic)  rather  than  the 

3.000. 000  years  which  has  been  commonly  accepted  as  the  duration  of 
the  epoch. 

The  study  of  radioactive  substances  has  done  much  to  modify  our 
conceptions  of  the  magnitude  of  geologic  time,  as  may  be  seen  by  refer- 
ring to  the  table  of  geologic  time  given  below  (p.  93).  The  detection  in 
1896  of  the  Becquerel  rays  given  out  by  uranium  minerals  led  up  to  the 
epoch-making  discovery  of  radium.  This  discovery  opened  the  way 
for  the  revelation  of  a whole  series  of  radioactive  substances  whose 
activities  have  had  a decided  influence  on  the  estimates  of  the  earth’s 
age.  Concerning  the  methods  of  testing  the  ages  given  by  radio- 
activity" Barrell  remarks: 

In  the  last  third  of  the  nineteenth  century  physics,  in  the  embodiment  of  its 
leaders,  Kelvin,  Helmholtz,  Tait,  and  others,  spoke  with  assurance  on  the  hmits  of 
geologic  time.  Geologists  sought  to  meet  their  demands,  in  so  far  as  they  could,  but 
such  men  as  Huxley,  Geikie,  Goodchild,  and  others,  giving  greater  weight  to  the 
geologic  evidence  refused  to  accept  the  restrictions  which  were  set.  We  have  lived 
to  see  unsuspected  sources  of  energy  discovered,  stupendous  in  amount,  which 
wholly  remove  the  former  limitations  on  the  age  of  the  earth  and  set  new 
boundaries  far  beyond  what,  to  most  geologists,  has  seemed  the  testimony  of  the 
evidence. 

After  the  one  experience  in  the  fallibility  of  physical  argument  notwithstanding 
its  mathematical  character,  it  would  certainly  be  unwise  for  geologists  to  accept 
unreservedly  the  new  and  larger  measurements  given  by  radioactivity.  There 
may  be  here,  also,  factors  undetected  and  unsuspected  which  vitiate  the  results. 
The  radioactive  measurements,  however,  can  and  should  be  tested  by  the  degree  of 
concordance  or  discordance  of  the  several  results  when  compared  with  each  other, 
and  also  with  independent  lines  of  evidence,  especially  geological. 

The  “New  Table  of  Geologic  Time,”  in  Barrell’s  paper,  shows  the 
varying  results  attained  by  the  different  lines  of  investigation,  outUned 
above,  as  well  as  the  adjustment  of  the  evidence  as  seen  in  the  geologic 
records. 


HISTORICAL  SKETCH  AND  TIME  RATIOS 


79 


DESCRIPTIONS  OF  FIGURES  5-7  AND  PLATES  Vni-X 
ILLUSTRATING  CHAPTER  I 


80 


l>  A LEO  PAT  HO  LOGY 


Figure  5 

Femur  of  a large  adult  cave  bear,  Ursus  speiaeus,  which  shows  a healed  frac- 
ture somewhat  below  the  middle  of  the  shaft  and  exhibits  numerous  evidences  of 
necrosis.  On  the  posterior  surface  there  are  two  rather  deep  canals  or  sequestrae, 
shown  in  figure  j,  Plate  VIII.  This  specimen  is  from  the  Pleistocene  of  Europe 
(After  Mayer.) 


Figure  5 


HISTORICAL  SKETCH  AND  TIME  RATIOS 


81 


FIGURE  6 


82 


PALEOPATHOLOGY 


Figure  6 

Baron  Georges  Cuvier.  French  Comparative  Anatomist  and  Paleontologist, 
1769-1832. 


Figure  6 


I 


/ 

HISTORICAL  SKETCH  AND  TIME  RATIOS 


FIGURE  7 


?.  : ,i 


^■v-V 


84 


PALEOPA THOLOGY 


Figure  7 

U pper  figure. 

Rudolf  Ludwig  Virchow,  German  Pathologist  and  Anthropologist,  1821-1902. 
Lower  left  figure. 

Phillipp  Franz  von  Walther,  1782-1849.  German  surgeon  who  wrote  one  of 
the  first  essays  on  Paleopathology. 

Lower  right  figure. 

Carl  Alfred  von  Zittel,  1839-1904.  German  paleontologist. 


Figure  7 


HISTORICAL  SKETCH  AND  TIME  RATIOS 


85 


PLATE  VIII 


86 


PALEOPATHOLOGY 


PLATE  VIII 

PATHOLOGICAL  BONES  OF  PLEISTOCENE  CAVE-BEAES. 

a.  Left  mandibular  ramus  of  a cave-bear,  Ursus  spelaeus,  Pleistocene  of 
Europe,  showing  the  ravages  of  disease.  Caries  and  the  absorption  of  alveolar 
processes,  as  well  as  necrotic  sinuses,  are  evident  in  the  bone.  The  specimen  indi- 
cates a very  old  individual. 

b.  Radius  showing  carious  hyperplasia  of  the  shaft  recalling  some  of  the  osseous 
lesions  seen  in  syphilis. 

c.  Portion  of  a fractured  rib  which  had  evidently  healed  imperfectly  with  the 
formation  of  considerable  callus  and  necrotic  sinuses. 

d.  Phalange  showing  hypertrophju 

e.  Section  through  same  showing  increased  thickness  of  bone  and  decrease  of 
the  medullary  space. 

/.  Metacarpal  showing  lesions  of  arthritis. 

g.  Phalange  of  cave-bear  showing  arthritic  lesions.  Dorsal  view. 

h.  Cervical  vertebra  showing  lesions. 

i.  Sacral  vertebra  showing  a diseased  condition  of  right  transverse  process. 

j.  Necrotic  sinuses  in  fractured  femur  of  cave-bear  (shown  in  Figure  5). 

k.  Two  lumbar  vertebrae  ankylosed  by  lesions  of  spond3ditis  deformans. 

(a,  j and  k after  Mayer;  b,  c,  d,  e,  and  i after  Mrchow;  f,  g and  h after  Schlosser.) 


Plate  VIII 


HISTORICAL  SKETCH  AND  TIME  RATIOS 


87 


PLATE  IX 


PALEOPATHOLOGY 


PLATE  IX 

TRAUMATISMS  AMONG  FOSSIL  REPTILES 

a.  Broken  right  horn  core,  attesting  a fight  or  accident  in  an  ancient  reptile’ 
Triceratops,  a three-horned  dinosaur  from  the  Cretaceous,  16,000,000  j’ears  ago- 
Specimen  preserved  in  the  U.  S.  National  Museum.  Courtes}’  of  Mr.  Charles 
Gilmore.  (Described  in:  Proc.  U.  S.  Natl.  Mus.,  Iv.  97-112,  pi.  9,  1919.) 

b.  Pathological  camel  phalanx  described  by  Troxell  from  the  Pleistocene  of 
Texas.  Original  in  Yale  University  Museum.  Courtesy  of  Dr.  R.  S.  Lull. 

c.  Amputated  right  tibia  and  fibula  of  a giant  sea  turtle,  Archelon  ischyros, 
from  the  Pierre  Cretaceous  of  the  South  Fork,  Cheyenne  River,  South  Dakota,  35 
miles  S.  E.  of  the  Black  Hills.  This  was  doubtless  bitten  off  while  the  animal  was 
young  by  either  a giant  fish  or  a carnivorous  reptile  since  the  bones  are  considerably 
smaller  than  those  on  the  left  side,  indicating  atrophy.  Skeleton  mounted  in  Yale 
University  Museum.  This  is  the  largest  fossil  turtle  known,  having  a length  of  over 
twelve  feet  and  an  estimated  weight  of  three  tons.  Photograph  by  courtesj'  of  Dr. 
R.  S.  Lull. 


j 

I 


\ 

I 

i 


5? 


i 

I 


Plate  IX 


HISTORICAL  SKETCH  AND  TIME  RATIOS 


89 


PLATE  X 


90 


PALEOPATHOLOGY 


PLATE  X 

PATHOLOGIC  LESIONS  ON  MESOZOIC  REPTILES 

a.  Lesions  of  spondylitis  deformans  uniting  two  caudal  vertebrae  of  a giant 
dinosaur,  Diplodocus,  from  the  Comanchean  of  Wyoming.  The  lesions  have 
involved  all  the  periphery  of  the  articular  surfaces  of  the  two  vertebrae.  Specimen 
in  Carnegie  Museum  at  Pittsburgh.  (After  Hatcher.) 

b.  Pachyostosis  or  hyperostosis  (Giantism)  in  a sacral  vertebra  and  ribs  of  an 
early  Triassic  nothosaur.  (After  Volz.) 

c.  Pathological  femur  of  a Jurassic  crocodile,  Metriorhynchus  moreli,  from  the 
Oxford  Clay  of  England. 

d.  Diseased  sacral  vertebra  of  same  animal  (After  Auer). 


Plate  X 


CHAPTER  II 


THE  ORIGIN  OF  DISEASE 

Speculations  as  to  the  antiquity  of  disease.  Geological  beginnings  of  disease.  Tabula- 
tion of  all  geological  evidences  of  disease.  Lesions  of  parasitism  among  Paleozoic  animals. 
Pathology  of  the  early  fishes,  amphibians  and  reptiles. 

SPECULATIONS  AS  TO  THE  ANTIQUITY  OF  DISEASE 

Speculations  usually  precede  discovery.  Suggestions  and  theories 
precede  definite  concepts.  The  first  recorded  suggestion  that  there 
might  be  considerable  antiquity  to  disease  and  pathological  processes 
was  made  by  von  Walther  in  1825  when  he  stated: 

We  have  no  historical  data  to  prove  how  old  disease  is  nor  when  it  first  attacked 
the  poor,  sinful,  human  race. 

Had  von  Walther  only  realized  it  he  had  in  his  possession  sufficient 
evidence  to  prove  a portion  of  the  antiquity  of  disease,  since  the  bones 
he  studied  were  of  Pleistocene  age,  representing  mammals  tens  of 
thousands  of  years  old.  Possibly  in  his  opinion  disease  was  not  disease 
unless  it  afflicted  the  human  race.  We  now  know  that  disease  is  the 
same  whether  manifested  in  man  or  in  the  lower  animals. 

The  possible  presence  of  disease  among  animals  of  remote  epochs  of 
the  earth’s  history  was  first  suggested  by  Metchnikoff  (1905).  He,  too, 
was  the  first  to  point  out  the  identity  of  many  forms  of  disease  which 
are  common  to  man  and  the  animals.  He  says: 

Diseases  in  general  and  infective  diseases  in  particular  were  developed  on  the 
earth  at  a very  remote  epoch. 

Mayer  (1854)  was  doubtless  the  first  student  to  realize  the  signifi- 
cance of  Paleopathology,  although  many  had  previously  studied 
diseased  fossil  bones.  He  grasped  clearly  the  significance  of  his  studies 
on  fossil  bones  to  the  history  of  medicine  in  its  broader  aspects. 
Schmerling  (1835),  too,  had  some  grasp  of  the  situation  and  contributed 
one  of  the  earhest  memoirs  to  Paleopathology.  His  results  were  of 
great  importance. 

The  possibility  of  finding  evidences  of  disease  in  a fossil  condition 
appealed  strongly  to  George  Fleming^  who  says : 

True,  the  fossil  remains  of  creatures  exposed  now  and  then  in  the  upper  crust 
of  the  earth  make  us  acquainted  to  a certain  extent,  with  diseases  to  which  the 

* Animal  Plagues,  their  History,  Nature  and  Prevention,  1871,  p.  1. 


91 


92 


PALEOPATHOLOGY 


lower  orders  of  creatures  were  subject,  “long  ere  the  water  overflowed  and  the  moun- 
tains sank,”  but  their  feeble  testimony  serves  us  but  little. 

At  the  time  he  wrote  little  was  known  of  paleopathology  and  the 
nature  of  fossil  diseases,  and  that  little  was  largely  based  on  lesions 
studied  on  the  remains  of  Pleistocene  mammals. 

It  was  Sir  Marc  Armand  Ruffer  (1914)  who  really  consummated  the 
union  of  ancient  and  modern  evidences  into  a single  science  which  he 
called  “Paleopathology.”  Unknown  to  him  the  word  had  previously 
been  used  in  a slightly  different  conception,  deahng  with  the  most 
ancient  aspects  of  the  subject.  His  ideas  of  the  most  remote  phases  <5f 
paleopathology  were  therefore  somewhat  speculative.  It  is  only 
within  recent  years  that  a general  conception  of  this  subject  has  been 
reached. 

GEOLOGICAL  BEGINNINGS  OF  DISEASE 

The  introduction  of  disease  among  the  early  animals  was  doubtless 
a gradual  process  and  the  very  oldest  evidences  were  so  indefinite  as  to 
be  unrecognizable.  The  intimate  association  of  animals  during  the 
early  part  of  the  Paleozoic  resulted  in  conditions  of  symbiosis  and  a 
mild  form  of  parasitism  which  are  the  first  phases  of  disease  found  in 
the  history  of  animal  life  on  earth.  Clarke  (1908),  who  has  studied  the 
beginnings  of  dependent  life  more  closely  than  any  other  paleontologist 
is  of  the  opinion  that  there  are  definite  evidences  of  true  parasitic 
conditions  in  the  Paleozoic  faunas  as  early  as  the  Devonian.  There 
are  no  known  cases  or  examples  of  infection,  no  tumors,  few  traumatic 
lesions  or  injuries  of  any  kind  prior  to  the  Devonian.  An  interest- 
ing case  of  parasitism  from  the  Mississippian  of  Indiana,  showing  on  the 
tegmen  of  the  crinoid  successive  growth  marks  made  by  an  attached 
snail,  represents  the  benign  form  parasitism  assumed  early  in  the  Paleo- 
zoic; a condition  lasting  until  near  the  close  of  that  epoch. 

The  oldest  examples  of  pseudo-parasitism  known  in  Paleozoic  ani- 
mals seldom  resulted  in  the  formation  of  excessive  pathological  growth, 
but  were  usually  benign  in  their  results.  The  very  beginnings  of  dis- 
ease we  may  never  see  and  we  are  not  safe  in  saying  that  disease  began 
at  a time  when  we  find  the  first  ob\dous  lesions.  A period  of  time 
enormous  in  its  extent  elapsed  before  pathology  had  progressed  suffi- 
ciently to  produce  visible  results  in  the  hard  parts  of  early  animals. 

TABULATION  OF  ALL  GEOLOGICAL  EVIDENCES 

The  relation  of  the  early  races  of  animals  to  disease  may  be  well 
shown  in  the  following  comprehensive  table  of  evidences  showing  in 


THE  ORIGIN  OF  DISEASE 


93 


detail  the  pathological  results  known  to  occur  in  the  individual  geologi- 
cal periods.  The  table  is  a simple  statement  of  results  so  far  obtained, 
and  on  the  basis  of  these  results  the  graph  (Figure  2)  showing  the 
increase  of  disease  was  based.  Additions  to  the  table  in  years  to  come 
may  completely  change  our  present  conceptions  of  the  origin  and 
development  of  pathology  but  at  the  present  time  the  information 
expressed  in  the  table  is  all  we  possess.  The  evidences  from  the 
Paleozoic  are  scanty  because  there  has  been  little  search  for  them  and 
it  will  be  interesting  to  see  what  the  results  will  be  when  it  is  possible 
to  tabulate  all  evidences  of  pathology  among  the  invertebrates  of  the 
early  periods  of  the  earth’s  history. 


TABULATION  OF  ALL  GEOLOGICAL  EVIDENCES  OE  DISEASE 


Eras 

Geological 

Periods 

1 Evidences  or  Disease 

Animal  and  Plant 
Life 

PSYCHOZOIC 

Recent 
3,000  ft. 
25,000  yrs.* 
(200,000  yrs.) 

Diseases  of  the  ancient  Egyptians;  the 
pre-Columbian  Indians  of  North  America; 
the  Incas  of  South  America  and  Neolithic 
Man  of  Europe.  Lesions  on  Extinct  Mam- 
mals. 

Rise  of  world  civili- 
zation. Age  of 

Man.  Domesticated 
Animals. 

Pleistocene 
4,500  ft. 
525,000  yrs. 
(800,000  yrs.) 

Spondylitis  deformans  on  cave  bears;  frac- 
ture and  callus;  necroses;  caries  in  masto- 
don; osteomyelitis;  exostoses  on  femur  of 
Pithecanthropus. 

Paleolithic  Man  in 
Europe;  world- 

wide extinction  of 
great  mammals; 

period  of  extensive 
glaciation;  trans- 
formation of  man- 
ape  to  man. 

Pliocene 
5,000  ft. 
500,000  yrs. 
(1,000,000 
yrs.) 

Actinomycosis,  spondylitis  deformans. 

Ancient  types  of 
horses;  many 
groups  of  extinct 
mammals. 

Cenozoic** 

Miocene 
9,000  ft. 
900,000  yrs. 
(12,000,000 
yrs.) 

Fracture  and  callus;  hypertrophy;  actino- 
mycosis; dental  caries;  pyorrhea;  necrosis 

Culmination  of 

mammals. 

Oligocene 
12,000  ft. 
1,300,000  yrs. 
(16,000,000 
yrs.) 

Fracture  and  callus. 

Rise  of  higher 
mammals. 

94 


PALEOPATHOLOGY 


Eras 

Geological 

Periods 

Evidences  of  Disease 

Animal  and  Plant 
Life 

Eocene 
12,000  ft. 
1,400,000  yrs. 
(20,000,000 
yrs.) 

Dental  fistula;  necrosis;  osteomalacia; 
Spondylitis  deformans 

Introduction  of 

higher  mammals; 
vanishing  of  archaic 
mammals;  intro- 
duction of  grasses. 

Epi-Meso- 
zoic  interval 
of  uncertain 
length. 

Rise  of  archaic 
mammals. 

Cretaceous 
18,000  ft. 
3,600,000  yrs. 
(40,000,000 
yrs.) 

Osteoma;  exostoses;  fracture  and  callus; 
dental  caries;  necrosis;  hypertrophy; 
arthritides;  alveolar  osteitis;pachyostosis; 
osteoperiostitis;  opisthotonos; 

Extinction  of  great 
reptiles;  extreme 
specialization  of 
reptiles;  small 
mammals;  toothed 
birds;  large  bony 
fishes;  deciduous 
trees. 

COMANCHEAN 
9,800  ft. 
2,500,000  yrs. 
(25,000,000 
yrs.) 

Haemangioma;  arthritides;  necrosis;  opis- 
thotonos; fracture  with  callus;  parasitism. 

Giant  reptiles;  rise 
of  flowering  plants; 
small  mammals. 

Mesozoic 

Jurassic 
8,500  ft. 
3,000,000  yrs. 
(35,000,000 
yrs.) 

Opisthotonos;  pleurothotonos;  suppura- 
tive necrosis  in  crocodile;  indication  of 
metastasis. 

Rise  of  birds;  flying 
reptiles;  small 
mammals;  first 

turtles;  ganoid 
fishes. 

Triassic 
12,000  ft. 
3,350,000  yrs. 
(35,000,000 
yrs.) 

Opisthotonos;  pleurothotonos;  fracture 
and  callus;  necrosis. 

Rise  of  dinosaurs; 
archaic  reptiles; 
labyrinthodonts; 
fishes. 

Epi-Paleo- 
zoic  interval 
of  uncertain 
length. 

Extinction  of  an- 
cient fife. 

Permian*** 
14,000  ft. 
3,500,000  yrs. 
(25,000,000 
yrs.) 

Oldest  known  callus  and  fracture;  caries 
in  fish  bone;  bacteria. 

Modem  insects;  ar- 
chaic reptiles;  ar- 
mored amphibians; 
scaled  fishes;  peri- 
odic glaciation. 

THE  ORIGIN  OF  DISEASE 


95 


Eras 

Geological 

Periods 

Evidences  of  Disease 

Animal  and  Plant 
Life 

Pennsyl- 
vanian 
16,000  ft. 
3,800,000  yrs. 
(35,000,000 
yrs.) 

Myzostomid  parasite  in  crinoid  stem; 
fungi;  bacteria. 

First  reptiles;  nu- 
merous amphibi- 
ans, first  bony 
fishes;  insects;  rise 
of  land  floras. 

Mississip- 

PIAN 

9,500  ft. 
2,900,000  yrs. 
(50,000,000 
yrs.) 

Hypertrophy  and  asymmetry  in  brachio- 
pods. 

Depauperization  of  fauna. 

Amphibian  foot- 
prints; rise  of  an- 
cient sharks. 

Paleozoic 

Devonian 
22,000  ft. 
4,600,000  yrs. 
(50,000,000 
yrs.) 

Beginnings  of  parasitism. 

First  footprints  of 
land  vertebrates; 
first  land  floras; 
dominance  of  ar- 
mored fishes;  in- 
sects; lung  fishes. 

Silurian 
15,000  ft. 
4,200,000  yrs. 
(40,000,000 
yrs.) 

Hypertrophy  in  crinoid  stem. 
Hypertrophy  in  a snail. 

First  air-breathers 
(scorpions) ; lung 
fishes;  fresh  water 
fishes;  starfishes; 
giant  arachnids. 

Ordovician 
17,000  ft. 
4,800,000  yrs. 
(90,000,000 
yrs.) 

Traumatism 

First  armored 
fishes;  corals;  nau- 
tilids;  dominance  of 
trilobites;  5,000 
species  of  inverte- 
brates known;  rise 
of  shelled  animals. 

Cambrian 
18,000  ft. 
5,300,000  yrs. 
(70,000,000 
yrs.) 

Communism;  beginnings  of  dependent 
life. 

1000  species  of  in- 
vertebrates; first 
known  marine  fau- 
nas; brachiopods; 
trilobites;  corals; 
sponges;  protozoa; 
molluscs;  algae;  no 
land  plants. 

Epi-Protero- 
zoic  Interval 
of  great 
duration. 

96 


PALEOPATHOLOGY 


Eras 

Geological 

Periods 

Evidences  of  Disease 

Animal  and  Plant 
Life 

Algonkian 
24,000  ft. 
13,000,000 
yrs. 

Age  of  primitive 
marine  inverte- 

brates; oldest 
known  fossils; 
worms;  radiolaria; 
Bacteria  (non- 

pathogenic)? 

Protero- 
zoic ( = ) 

Neo- 

Laijrentian 
50,000  ft. 
20,000,000 
yrs. 

No  fossils  known. 

Archeo- 
zoic ( * ) 

Paleo- 
Laurentian 
98,000  ft. 
46,000,000 
yrs. 

No  definite  evi- 
dences of  life;  lime- 
stone deposits  may 
be  some  indication 
of  biological  condi- 
tions. This  period 
witnessed  the  origin 
of  life  and  the 
beginning  of  the 
world. 

* The  estimates  here  given  of  the  duration  of  the  geological  periods  are  conser\'ative  and 
suffice  to  show  the  great  antiquity  of  disease.  In  parenthesis  is  given  the  estimate  based  on 
radioactive  substances. 

**  Matthew  estimates  10,000,000  years  as  the  duration  of  the  Cenozoic,  basing  his  esti- 
mate on  the  evolution  of  the  mammals.  Studies  of  radioactive  substances  indicate  a duration 
of  55,000,000  years. 

***  The  Permian,  Pennsylvanian  and  Mississippian  are  often  grouped  together  as  the 
Carboniferous. 

= The  duration  of  the  Proterozoic  was  as  great  as  aU  post-Cambrian  times,  which  have 
been  estimated  as  high  as  415,000,000  years. 

® The  study  of  radioactive  substances  gives  estimates  as  high  as  1,600,000,000  years  for 
the  duration  of  the  Archeozoic. 

LESIONS  OF  PARASITISM  AMONG  PALEOZOIC  ANIM.4LS 

The  oldest  evidences  of  disease  are  those  of  parasitism.  These 
are  often  indefinite  lesions  of  the  hinge-line  of  molluscs,  scars  under  the 
mantle,  enlargements  of  various  parts,  or  markings  of  the  parasite  upon 
the  host.  Often,  especially  in  the  late  Paleozoic,  the  lesions  take  the 
form  of  tumors  in  crinoid  stems,  due  apparently  to  the  presence  of  a 
myzostomid.  Such  lesions  are  described  in  Chapter  VIII.  There  must 
have  been  a period  of  mild  parasitism  preceding  these  which  caused 


THE  ORIGIN  OF  DISEASE 


97 


lesions  on  the  hard  parts,  for  it  often  requires  a considerable  duration 
of  infection  to  produce  such  a lesion.  Thus  we  are  aware  that  the 
earliest  known  lesions  of  parasitism  (Plate  XI)  do  not  represent  the 
beginnings  of  that  pathological  state  which  is  concerned  with  the 
beginnings  of  disease. 

PATHOLOGY  OP  THE  EARLY  PISHES,  AMPHIBIANS  AND  REPTILES 

The  remains  of  the  early  vertebrates,  prior  to  the  Permian,  have 
shown  no  noteworthy  pathological  lesions.  There  may  have  been  dis- 
eases among  these  early  forms  but  the  lesions  have  not  yet  been 
described,  as  may  be  seen  by  referring  to  the  Table  of  Geological  Evi- 
dences. We  find,  to  be  sure,  certain  laterally  compressed  fishes  pre- 
served in  the  attitudes  of  opisthotonos  and  pleurothotonos  in  horizons 
prior  to  the  Permian.  These  attitudes  may  have  been  due  to  spastic 
distress  induced  by  cerebrospinal  infections  or  to  some  form  of  poison- 
ing. This  possibility  must  be  considered  in  speaking  of  early  states  of 
disease.  Ingress  of  infecting  bacteria  was  relatively  easy  through 
the  unprotected  brain  case  of  the  early  vertebrates.  The  presence  of 
infecting  bacteria  has  been  established  through  the  researches  of  Ren- 
ault and  is  fully  outlined  in  Chapter  IX. 

Several  pathological  conditions  are  indicated  among  the  Permian 
reptiles,  but  of  the  pathology  of  the  Paleozoic  Amphibia  nothing  what- 
ever is  known.  Remains  of  these  animals  are  not  uncommon  in  certain 
formations  and  there  is  a large  literature  but  no  mention  of  pathology 
occurs  in  the  discussions  of  these  ancient  animals.  Among  the  hun- 
dreds of  Coal  Measures  Amphibia  examined  for  the  preparation  of  my 
monographic  revision  of  the  North  American  forms,  not  a single  one 
showed  any  evidence  of  pathology.  I do  not  understand  from  this 
that  disease  did  not  exist  among  the  Paleozoic  Amphibia.  It  rather 
means  that  we  have  not  yet  seen  the  lesions  of  disease  among  these 
forms. 


CHAPTER  III 


PATHOLOGICAL  CONDITIONS  AMONG  FOSSIL  PLANTS 
By  Edward  W.  Berry,  Johns  Hopkins  University 

Introduction.  Extinction.  Parasitism.  Callus  and  injury.  Fossil  fungi.  Bacterial 
activity.  Spot  fungi.  Activities  of  insects.  Teratology.  Descriptions  of  Plates  XI-XIII 
illustrating  Chapters  II  and  III. 

INTRODUCTION 

Plant  pathology,  which  is  so  important  a branch  of  botanical 
science,  includes  in  its  subject  matter  not  only  symptoms  and  causes  of 
the  maladies  which  threaten  the  lives  of  plants,  but  those  that  result 
in  abnormalities  of  structure,  form  or  appearance  which  are  either 
directly  injurious  or  even  merely  unsightly,  as  well  as  the  remedies 
and  treatments  for  combating  them. 

It  is  obvious  that  the  study  of  fossil  plants  has  no  immediately 
practical  results  to  offer  to  the  economic  botanist,  and  it  is  equally 
obvious  that  the  student  interested  in  the  phytopathology  of  former 
geologic  times  is  limited  to  those  few  causes  and  results  that  are  capable 
of  preservation  in  the  fossil  record.  The  present  brief  sketch  must 
therefore  be  regarded  as  merely  an  enumeration  of  some  of  the  more 
obvious  records  that  may  be  considered  as  coming  under  the  head  of 
wounds  and  parasitism  irrespective  of  whether  or  not  they  may  be 
included  under  the  subject  of  pathology  in  a strict  sense. 

EXTINCTION 

One  of  the  outstanding  problems  of  the  paleontologist  whether  he 
deal  with  animals  or  plants  is  the  specific  factors  that  have  led  to  the 
extinction  of  the  myriads  of  organisms  that  have  flourished  in  past 
ages.  General  climatic  or  other  environmental  changes  have  no  doubt 
been  influential,  but  these  were  imperceptibly  gradual,  and  it  is  doubt- 
ful if  they  have  ever  been  primary  factors.  If  this  were  the  case  why 
is  it  that  the  trilobites  rapidly  reached  their  chmacteric  development 
and  disappeared  during  the  Paleozoic,  while  their  contemporaries — 
the  very  similarly  organized  true  Crustacea,  are  abundant  at  the  present 
time.  What  were  the  factors  which  led  to  the  extinction  of  the  various 


99 


100 


PALEOPATHOLOGY 


races  of  seed  ferns,  lepidophytes  and  arthrophytes  of  the  Paleozoic  or  of 
the  abundant  cycadophytes  of  the  Mesozoic?  They  were  cosmopolitan 
types  and  plastic  enough  to  adapt  themselves  to  the  varying  environ- 
ments throughout  the  world  in  those  days..  To  be  sure  many  tj’pes 
became  extinct  by  evolutionary  modification  into  something  else,  but 
others  appear  to  have  vanished  abruptly  hke  the  sphenophyllums  of  the 
Paleozoic  or  the  cycadeoids  of  the  Mesozoic  and  to  have  left  none  but 
collateral  descendants.  Undoubtedly  competition  was  a great  factor 
and  probably  micro-organisms  played  a considerable  part,  and  yet  if 
it  is  legitimate  to  judge  from  their  not  very  closely  related  modern 
representatives,  all  of  these  extinct  plant  groups  which  I have  men- 
tioned were  singularly  free  from  insect  and  fungus  pests  as  compared 
with  the  more  modern  flowering  plants.  The  causes  of  the  extinction 
of  individual  species  is  even  more  difficult  to  \dsuahze  than  that  of 
plant  groups.  I recall  no  modern  pest  that  succeeds  in  the  extermina- 
tion of  its  host,  whether  it  be  chestnut  blight,  cotton  boll  insect  or 
potato  beetle.  And  even  such  a catastrophe  as  overwhelmed  the  tile 
fish  a score  of  years  ago  did  not  result  in  extermination,  nor  did  events 
in  the  past  of  far  greater  magnitude,  such  as  the  lava  flows  of  the  Dec- 
can  or  those  of  the  Columbia  River  region,  have  more  than  a local 
influence  on  the  floras  of  those  regions.  It  is  conceivable,  even  very 
probable,  that  single  specific  causes  were  never  efficient  except  as  single 
factors  in  a chain  or  complex  of  more  or  less  unfavorable  conditions  due 
to  changes  in  physical  environments  such  as  temperature,  water  supply, 
humidity,  etc.,  and  to  changing  organic  environments  such  as  increased 
competition  of  more  competent  forms  or  unusual  increase  of  parasitic 
forms,  both  animal  and  vegetable. 

The  study  of  pathological  conditions  in  fossil  plants  may  be  said 
to  be  in  its  embryonic  stage  of  development.  It  is  true  that  some  few 
by-products  of  anatomical  and  morphological  studies  of  fossil  plants 
afford  isolated  instances  of  pathological  conditions,  but  these  are 
limited  and  their  discovery  is  largely  accidental,  depending  on  the 
chance  location  of  a rock  section,  nor  does  it  seem  possible  ever  to  go 
beyond  such  facts  as  are  furnished  by  e\ddences  of  traumatism  caused 
by  wounds  or  by  insect  or  fungal  activities. 

The  pathological  effects  of  such  factors  as  too  great  or  too  httle 
moisture,  too  much  or  too  little  light,  or  too  great  or  too  small  tem- 
peratures—such  things  as  etiolation  or  chlorosis,  are  probably  beyond 
the  reach  of  paleobotanical  investigation.  Bacteriosis  may  possibly 
be  inferred  from  the  actual  presence  of  bacteria  or  undoubted  e\'idence 


FA  LEO  PH  YTOPA  T HO  LOG  Y 


101 


of  their  toxic  effects,  and  flux  or  gummosis  may  possibly  be  indicated 
by  the  presence  of  resins  or  amber  pellets,  but  this  is  not  necessarily 
true. 

PARASITISM 

Parasitism  itself  is  not  necessarily  pathologic  in  the  sense  that  it 
is  baneful  to  the  host,  although  it  may  be  assumed  that  it  is  invariably 
a stimulus  to  abnormal  metabolism  and  generally  to  abnormal  tissue 
formation,  even  when  we  are  ignorant  of  its  visible  effects.  Certain 
forms  of  parasitism  may  be  actually  beneficial  to  the  host  as  in  the 
case  of  the  nitrogen  fixing  mycorrhizae  of  roots,  or  those  of  the  roots  of 
sour  soil  plants  such  as  the  blueberry,  arbutus,  etc.,  thus  becoming 
symbiotic,  the  most  striking  instance  of  which  is  furnished  by  the 
symbiotic  association  of  algae  and  fungi  to  form  the  lichens. 

In  dealing  with  fossil  plants  it  is  frequently  impossible  to  determine 
whether  the  observed  parasitism  is  pathologic  in  the  strict  sense,  nor  is  it 
usually  possible  to  determine  whether  the  bacteria,  fungi,  or  other  or- 
ganisms that  may  be  observed,  invaded  the  tissues  before  the  death  of 
the  individual  or  subsequently. 

CALLUS  AND  INJURY 

I Cicatrization  of  injured  tissue,  or  callus  formation,  is  a form  of 
pathologic  activity  that  is  most  frequently  observed  in  fossil  plants. 
It  was  commented  upon  in  print  by  GoepperC  as  early  as  1882. 
Numerous  specific  cases  have  come  to  light.  For  example  Seward^ 
in  1898  described  callus  wood  in  a calami te  from  the  English  Carbon- 
iferous and  Stopes^  has  described  a second  English  Carboniferous 
;alamite  in  which  the  wound  was  so  deep  that  it  had  penetrated  the 
vascular  cylinder,  the  injured  and  partially  decayed  primary  strands 
oeing  shut  off  and  the  wound  closed  by  callus,  which  had  formed  in- 
•olled  and  inverted  wood  in  the  pith  cavity.  Holden'*  described 
similar  callus  wood  in  a superficially  wounded  Myeloxylon  (petiole) 
rom  the  Carboniferous,  which  showed  clearly  the  meristematic  cortical 
Issue,  wound  cambium  and  cork  cells  (periderm);  and  Jeffrey  has 
■ecently  described  similar  features  in  more  modern  material  from  this 

* Goeppert,  H.  R.,  Beitrage  zur  Pathologic  und  Morphologic  fossilcr  Stammc.  Palacont. 
5d.  28.  12  pp.  5 pis.  1881. 

^Seward,  A.  C.,  Fossil  Plants,  vol.  1,  pp.  319-320,  t.f.  80,  1898. 

’ Slopes,  M.  C.,  A Note  on  Wounded  Calamites.  Ann.  Bot.,  vol.  21,  pp.  277-280,  pi.  23, 
907. 

■'  Holden,  H.  S.,  Note  on  a Wounded  Myeloxylon.  New  Phyt.  vol.  9,  pp.  253-257,  t.f. 
7,  18,  1910. 


102 


PALEOPATHOLOGY 


country.  The  last  author  has  made  the  abnormalities  due  to  the  stimu- 
lus of  wounding,  which  commonly  appear  on  the  opposite  side  of  the 
stem  from  the  actual  wound,  and  comprise  the  formation  of  traumatic 
resin  canals  in  non-resiniferous  forms,  the  formation  of  ray  tracheids  in 
forms  in  which  they  are  normally  absent,  changes  in  tracheid  pitting, 
etc.,  the  basis  for  considerable  phylogenetic  speculation.® 

Where  wounds  are  not  successfully  healed  the  continued  stimulus 
often  results  in  a cancer-like  growth  of  progressively  increasing  size 
known  as  a “burl,”  “burr,”  or  “knaur.”  Such  doubtless  occur  at 
many  geologic  horizons.  They  are  frequent  on  Pleistocene  specimens 
of  Taxodium,  and  Goeppert  (op.  cit.)  has  described  some  from  earlier, 
and  in  some  cases.  Paleozoic  horizons. 

The  most  striking  example  of  cicatrization  known  in  the  geologic 
record  is  furnished  by  the  self  pruning  (Cladoptosis)  of  the  Carbonifer- 
ous lepidophytes  commonly  referred  to  the  form-genus  Ulodendron. 
These  are  only  known  as  impressions  and  show  large  elhptical  cup 
shaped  scars  in  vertical  series  on  Bothrodendron  and  other  lepidophyte 
stems.  They  have  been  known  since  1818  and  students  have  exercised 
their  ingenuity  in  explaining  these  Ulodendron  scars  which  are  fre- 
quently several  centimeters  in  diameter  in  a variety  of  ways.  They 
have  been  considered  as  scars  left  by  the  pressure  of  the  bases  of  sessile 
cones,  as  scars  of  adventitious  roots,  fruiting  branches,  etc.  Watson® 
in  1908  furnished  presumptive  proof  that  these  Ulodendron  scars 
were  due  to  self  pruning  of  often  large  branches,  and  this  has  been 
confirmed  by  the  more  recent  researches  of  Renier.^ 

Probably  the  chief  agents  of  pathological  effects  in  the  past  as  at 
the  present  time  were  bacteria  and  fungi.  As  previously  remarked  the 
student  interested  in  the  pathology  of  plants  during  former  geologic 
times  has  usually  no  means  of  determining  whether  the  traces  of  fungi 
found  fossil  were  pathogenic  or  were  merely  performing  the  normal 
function  of  decay  and  dissolution  in  the  reduction  of  complex  dead 
matter  to  simple  compounds  available  for  plant  food.  I will,  therefore, 
mention  a few  examples  of  fossil  forms  and  mil  largely  disregard  the 
distinction  between  pathologic  and  non-pathologic  t}"pes.  (Plate  XII.) 

‘ See  for  example  Jeffrey,  E.  C.,  Wound  Reactions  of  Brach3T3hyllum.  Ann.  Bot.,  vol.  20, 
pp.  383-394,  pis.  27,  28,  1906,  and  numerous  subsequent  papers. 

•Watson,  D.  M.  S.,  Mem.  Proc.  Manchester  Lit.  PhU.  Soc.  vol.  52,  14  pp.  2 pis.  1 t.f., 
1908. 

’ Renier,  A.,  Mem.  Soc.  g6ol.  Belg.  2,  pp.  35-82,  pis.  7-9,  1910. 


PALEOPH  YTOPA  THOLOGY 


103 


FOSSIL  FUNGI 

The  small  size  and  delicate  nature  of  most  fungi  render  their 
successful  preservation  as  fossils  more  or  less  exceptional  and  their 
discovery  is  also  fortuitous  in  connection  with  histological  work  upon 
more  or  less  fragmentary  plant  tissues  that  have  become  petrified. 
Despite  these  facts  anyone  who  has  interested  himself  in  histologic 
investigation  of  fossil  plants  becomes  convinced  that  both  parasitic  and 
saprophytic  forms  were  probably  as  abundant  as  far  back  as  represen- 
tative remains  of  terrestrial  floras  have  been  found,  certainly  as  early 
as  Carboniferous  times,  while  direct  evidence  of  bacteria  extend  back 
to  pre-Cambrian  times.  (Plate  XIII.) 

The  hard  and  leathery  sporophores  of  forms  like  the  modern  bracket 
fungi  might  be  expected  to  be  preserved  as  fossils,  and  a few  undoubted 
instances  of  Tertiary  and  Pleistocene  occurrences  are  indisputable,  but 
such  records  from  older  formations  are  highly  untrustworthy,  although 
such  negative  evidence  can  by  no  means  be  considered  as  proving 
their  absence  during  earlier  times.  One  feature  that  has  frequently 
been  commented  upon  is  the  fresh  and  clear  cut  cortical  patterns  of  the 
Paleozoic  lepidodendrons,  sigillarias  and  their  allies,  seemingly  proving 
that  epiphytes  and  fungi  such  as  drape  the  tree  trunks  in  existing  humid 
regions  comparable  with  the  coal  swamp  environments,  did  not  exist 
in  Carboniferous  times. 

BACTERIAL  ACTIVITY 

The  disorganization  of  cell  walls  by  the  dissolving  of  the  middle 
lamellae  or  cement  layer  by  bacterial  activity  has  frequently  been 
observed  in  fossil  woods  of  all  geological  horizons  from  the  Lower 
Carboniferous  to  the  present.  Van  Tieghem®  in  1877  was  the  first  to 
describe  these  features  and  to  compare  them  with  the  results  of  butyric 
fermentation  caused  by  the  existing  Bacillus  amylobacter.  Renault  and 
Bertrand  subsequently  described  a very  large  number  of  bacterial 
occurrences,  particularly  from  Devonian,  Carboniferous,  Permian  and 
Jurassic  rocks,  and  more  recently  Walcott®  has  demonstrated  the 
presence  of  bacteria  in  the  very  much  older  Algonkian  rocks,  thus 
lending  support  to  the  theory  that  a pre-chlorophyllic,  chemosynthetic 
stage  of  plant  evolution  preceded  the  chlorophyllic,  photosynthetic 
stage  with  which  we  are  so  familiar  as  exhibited  by  the  majority  of 
existing  plants. 

® Van  Tieghem,  P.,  Bull.  Soc.  Bot.  France,  tome  24,  p.  128,  1877. 

• Walcott,  C.  D.  Smith.  Misc.  Coll.  vol.  64,  no.  2,  1914. 


104 


PALEOPATHOLOGY 


Among  the  true  fungi  fossil  occurrences  are  based  upon  two  classes 
of  remains,  namely,  such  as  are  preserved  in  petrified  tissues  of  higher 
plants,  and  those  forms,  both  endo-  and  epiphyllous,  as  cause  pustules 
or  discolored  patches  on  foliage,  or  form  recognizable  perithecia  on 
leaf  surfaces.  Spot  fungi  have  been  observed  upon  fossil  foliage  pre- 
served as  impressions  from  the  Devonian  to  the  present,  but  their 
indefinite  character  usually  renders  their  accurate  identification  hope- 
less. It  is  usually  impossible  to  distinguish  between  glands,  lenticels, 
insect  punctures  or  fungal  ravages,  and  with  the  last  it  is  generally 
impossible  to  differentiate  between  pustules  due  to  endophytic  forms 
and  actual  outgrowths  of  mycelia  with  the  formation  of  stromata. 

SPOT  FUNGI 

Vast  numbers  of  fossil  spot  fungi  are  recorded  in  the  hterature  of 
paleobotany.  A majority  of  these  are  unsatisfactory  in  that  they  fail 
to  afford  definite  botanical  characters,  so  that  only  a few  examples  will 
be  given.  Meschinelli^'’  prepared  a bibliography  and  check  list  of  fossil 
fungi  for  Saccardo’s  great  work  on  fungi  and  the  reader  is  referred  to 
this  for  a rather  complete  enumeration  of  fossil  forms  up  to  the  year 
1900. 

What  probably  represent  perithecia  of  Hysterites  cordaitis  Grand’ 
Eury  are  shown  on  Cordaites  leaves  figured  by  White^^  from  the 
Carboniferous  of  Missouri,  and  very  many  pages  could  be  filled  with 
citations  of  other  records  of  very  similar  remains  from  all  geological 
horizons.  A Diospyros  leaf  infested  with  a spot  fungus  and  coming 
from  the  lower  Eocene  of  Tennessee  is  shown  in  the  accompamdng 
illustration  (Plate  XIII,  a).  Attention  might  also  be  called  to  the 
very  characteristic  form  on  the  leaves  of  Tertiary  fan  palms  from 
Elorida  described  by  the  writer  as  Pestalozzites  sabalana,^-  and  to  the 
petiolar  and  ray  fungi  on  Eocene  palms  described  as  species  of  Caeno- 
myces.’^ 

A considerable  number  of  fungi  have  also  been  described  from  the 
lower  Oligocene  amber  of  the  Baltic  region. 

Turning  now  to  petrified  remains  a few  instances  may  be  noted.  A 
Carboniferous  endophytic  fungus,  probably  referable  to  the  Phycomy- 
cetes,  and  named  Perenosporites  antiquarius  was  described  by  Worthing- 


Meschinelli,  A.,  Fungorum  Fossilium  omnium  Iconographia,  144  pp.,  31  pis.,  1902. 
White,  D.,  Mon.  U.  S.  Geol.  Surv.  vol.  37,  p.  14,  pi.  3,  1899. 

Berry,  E.  W.,  U.  S.  Geol.  Surv.  Prof.  Paper  98E,  p.  46,  pi.  8,  fig.  3;  pi.  9,  fig.  9,  1916. 
Berry,  E.  W.,  Idem.  91,  p.  162,  pi.  9,  figs.  2,  3,  1916. 


PA  LEOPHYTOPA  THOLOG  V 


105 


ton  Smith  in  1877/^  and  although  his  illustrations  are  somewhat 
idealized  similar  remains  have  been  described  in  Carboniferous  Lepido- 
dendron  material  by  Cash  & Hick/^  Williamson/®  and  other  authors. 
A form  very  similar  to  the  English  species  was  described  from  the 
French  coal  measures  as  Palaeomyces  by  Renault/^  and  Coulter  and 
Land^®  have  recently  figured  what  appear  to  be  antheridia  and  oogonia 
which  they  found  in  rootlets  that  had  penetrated  a Lepidostrobus  cone 
from  the  Carboniferous  of  Warren  County,  Iowa.  Jeffrey^®  has  de- 
scribed and  figured  a fungus  found  in  the  early  Tertiary  lignites  of 
Brandon,  Vermont,  which  he  calls  Sclerotitites  hrandonianus  and  which 
he  interprets  as  a sclerotium  stage. 

From  petrified  palm  wood  from  the  Oligocene  of  our  southern  states 
I have  described®®  material  in  a remarkable  state  of  preservation 
showing  both  antheridia  and  oogonia  {Peronospor aides  palmi),  and 
various  other  forms  showing  both  mycelia  and  conidia  and  referred 
■ to  Cladosporites.  Remains  similar  to  the  last  mentioned  have  also 
been  described  by  Felix, Whitford,®®  and  others.  Spinose  bodies 
called  Zygosporites  and  comparable  with  the  sporangia  of  modern  forms 
like  Mucor  are  common  in  Carboniferous  petrified  tissues  and  Renault®® 
has  described  forms  from  the  Permian  which  he  called  Teleutospora 
milloti  (Puccineae)  and  others  which  he  nam^ed  Mucor  combrensis^ 
j and  Oochytrium.  Oliver  has  described®®  conceptacles  containing  spores 
I in  a petrified  leaf  of  Alethopteris,  and  similar  bodies  in  the  nucellus  of 
the  seeds  of  Sphaerospermum,  both  from  the  Paleozoic.  A Permian 
Ascomycete  (Rosellinites) , unfortunately  not  petrified,  was  described 
by  Potonie®®  and  Engelhardt  has  described  similar  material  which  he 

Worthington  Smith,  Gardiners  Chronicle,  vol.  8,  p.  499,  1877. 

Cash  and  Hick,  On  fossil  fungi  from  the  Lower  Coal  Measures  of  Halifax.  Proc.  Work. 
Geol.  Polyt.  Soc.,  vol.  7,  p.  115,  1878. 

Williamson,  W.  C.,  Phil.  Trans.  Roy.  Soc.  Lond.,  vol.  172,  p.  300,  pi.  48,  figs.  36-38; 
pi.  54,  figs.  28-33,  1881. 

^’Renault,  B.,  Bassin  houiller  et  permien  d’Autun  et  d’Epinac,  fasc.  4,  2e  partie,  pp. 
} 439,  441,  figs.  88-90, 1896. 

I Coulter  and  Land,  Bot.  Gaz.,  vol.  51,  p.  452,  figs.  21-23,  1911. 

Jeffrey,  E.  C.,  Geol.  Surv.  Vermont,  Report  1905-1906,  p.  200. 

Berry,  E.  W.  Mycologia,  vol.  9,  pp.  73-78,  pis.  180-182,  1916. 

Felix,  J.,  Zeits.  deutsch,  geol.  GeseU.,  1894,  pp.  269-280,  pi.  19. 

Whitford,  A.  C.,  Univ.  Studies,  Nebraska,  vol.  14,  3 pp.  2 pis.  1914. 

Renault,  B.,  op.  cit.  Autun  Flora,  p.  427,  fig.  80d,  1896. 

Idem.  figs.  80a-80c. 

Oliver,  F.  W.,  New  Phyt.,  vol.  2,  p.  49,  1903. 

Potonie,  H.,  Jahrb.  k.k.  Preuss.  geol.  Landes.  Bd.  9,  p.  27,  pi.  1,  fig.  8,  1893. 


106 


PALEOPATHOLOGY 


referred  to  the  genus  Rosellinia  from  the  Oligocene  brown  coal  of  Cen- 
tral Europe.^^ 

Weiss,  some  years  ago,  described  the  interesting  remains  of  para- 
sitic fungi  with  the  complementary  development  of  wound  tissue  in 
Stigmarian  rootlets  from  the  lower  coal  measures  of  England.^®  ^lag- 
nus  compared  this  fossil  type  with  the  existing  Urophlyctis  which  it 
resembled  in  as  much  of  its  structure  as  was  discernible  as  well  as  in  its 
habit  of  infesting  plants  of  marshy  or  wet  situations.  Weiss  accords  in 
this  comparison  to  the  extent  of  naming  the  fossil  form  Urophlyctites 
stigmariae.  This  same  author  notes  a Mycorhiza  from  the  same  geo- 
logical horizon^®  in  rootlets  of  some  leidophyte  (Rhizonium).  The 
hyphae  are  for  the  most  part  intracellular,  but  in  no  case  is  there  any 
sign  of  injury  to  the  host.  This  form,  suggesting  an  early  development 
of  symbiosis  and  nitrogen  fixation,  was  named  Mycorhizonium. 

The  ravages  of  a Polyporus-like  fungus  in  wood  preserved  in  the 
Baltic  amber  beds  (lower  Oligocene)  was  described  by  Conwentz  and 
there  can  be  no  doubt  but  that  if  an  experienced  mycologist  would 
study  the  fossil  records,  fungi  would  be  found  to  be  present  in  surprizing 
numbers.  Petrified  woods,  of  all  ages,  as  seen  in  chance  sections,  com- 
monly shows  mycelial  hyphae,  both  septate  with  clamp  coimections 
and  non-septate.  These  are  often  seen  puncturing  the  tracheid  walls 
or  ramifying  over  the  walls  of  the  vessels  and  through  the  bordered 
pits.  The  tissues  are  frequently  dissociated  through  bacterial  activi- 
ties, punctures  and  striations  of  the  cell  walls  are  observable  and  testify 
to  fungal  activities  even  when  the  actual  causative  agents  have  failed 
to  be  petrified. 

ACTmXIES  OF  INSECTS 

Turning  now  to  possible  pathologic  conditions  caused  by  the  acti\i- 
ties  of  animal  organisms  it  may  be  noted  that  the  insect  stock  is  an 
ancient  one  and  that  insect  activities  in  past  times  are  observable 
not  only  in  fossil  woods,  but  in  tunnels  of  leaf  miners  in  fossil  leaves, 
of  which  many  examples  have  been  described  in  material  from  the 
Cretaceous  and  Tertiary  rocks.  One  finds  in  the  Cretaceous  occasional 
leaves  of  the  flowering  plants,  preserved  as  impressions,  in  which  they 
show  every  appearance  of  having  been  riddled  or  partially  destroyed 

Engelhardt,  H.,  Gesell,  Isis  in  Dresden,  ab.  4,  p.  33,  1887. 

Weiss,  F.  E.,  A Probable  Parasite  of  Stigmarian  Rootlets.  New.  Phyt.,  vol.  3,  pp.  63- 
68,  fig.  66,  67,  1904. 

Weiss,  F.  E.,  A Mycorhiza  from  the  Lower  Coal-Measures.  Ann.  Bot.  vol.  18,  pp.  255- 
265,  pi.  18,  19,  1904. 


PALEOPHYTOPA  THOLOGY 


107 


by  caterpillars,  and  the  work  of  leaf  cutting  bees  has  been  observed  in 
both  Upper  Cretaceous  and  Tertiary  leaves.^”  Hypertrophy  due  to 
insect  punctures  or  egg  laying  in  plant  tissues  and  resulting  in  galls, 
while  comparatively  rare,  is  not  unknowm  in  the  fossil  state,  particu- 
larly in  the  later  geological  formations. 

For  example,  a great  variety  of  galls  have  been  collected  from  the 
impure  peats  of  the  Pleistocene,  both  in  this  country  and  Europe. 
Monihform  Taxodium  leaves  resulting  from  the  activity  of  gall  gnats 
(Cecidomyiids)  are  very  common  in  the  Pleistocene  of  Maryland. 
Plate  XII,  a shows  a characteristic  gall  from  the  Upper  Cretaceous 
Dakota  sandstone.®^  Plate  XIII,  c shows  a petiolar  gall  from  the  lower 
Eocene,  of  a kind  such  as  are  caused  by  some  species  of  Hemiptera  and 
more  commonly  by  gall  flies.^^  Plate  XIII,  b shows  well  marked 
“seed,”  “tube”  or  “cone  gaUs”  such  as  are  produced  by  species  of 
Cecidomyia  (Diptera)  in  this  case  on  a leaf  impression  from  the  lower 
Eocene.®^ 

Both  mines  and  egg  masses  of  some  microlepidopterous  insect  have 
recently  been  described  from,  the  Upper  Cretaceous  of  Wyoming^^  and  a 
thorough  search  through  paleobotanical  literature  or  museum  collec- 
tions would  undoubtedly  result  in  an  indefinite  extension  of  similar 
instances  of  insect  activity. 

The  v/ork  of  eel  worms  (Nematodes)  upon  leaves  has  been  described 
by  Eric  in  Upper  Cretaceous  leaves  from  Bohemia.^® 

TERATOLOGY 

Abnormal  or  teratological  fossil  leaves  showing  malformation  in 
outline  or  in  the  development  of  puckers  are  sometimes  preserved 
as  fossils  but  an  enumeration  of  instances  would  not  serve  any  useful 
purpose  in  the  present  connection. 

Williamson  in  1880  called  attention  to  Carboniferous  wood  with 
traces  of  borings  made  by  some  xylophagus  arthropod  and  to  minute 
coprolites  or  excreta  such  as  are  frequently  found  within  the  frame- 
work of  cells,  as  well  as  to  oval  membrane  bounded  bodies  preserved  in 

Erie,  A.,  Archiv.  Naturw.  Landes.  Bohm.  Bd.  11,  p.  167,  fig.  9,  1901. 

Lesquereux,  L.  Mon.  U.  S.  Geol.  Surv.,  vol.  17,  p.  58,  pi.  7,  fig.  2,  1892. 

Berry,  E.  W.,  U.  S.  Geol.  Sur^^  Prof.  Paper  91,  p.  33,  pi.  56,  fig.  2,  1916. 

“Idem.,  p.  33,  pi.  Ill,  fig.  1. 

Knowlton,  F.  H.,  U.  S.  Geol.  Surv.  Prof.  Paper  108  F,  pp.  87,  93,  pi.  33,  fig.  5;  pi.  36, 
fig.  5,  1917. 

“ Fric,  A.,  Archiv.  Naturw.  Landes.  Bohm.,  Bd.  11,  pp.  166,  167,  177,  figs.  6,  8,  27,  1901. 


108 


PALEOPATHOLOGY 


a petrified  state  that  apparently  represent  the  eggs  of  some  insect.^® 
Insect  galleries  in  fossil  woods  have  also  been  noted  by  numerous 
other  students,  e.g.,  Geinitz  in  1842  called  attention  to  their  presence 
in  Upper  Cretaceous  woods  from  Saxony®'^  and  in  1855  he  described 
similar  traces  in  the  stems  of  Sigillaria  from  the  Saxon  Carboniferous, 
which  he  doubtfully  attributed  to  the  work  of  Coleoptera.®*  Desmarest 
noted®®  similar  galleries  in  French  specimens  as  early  as  1845  and 
Charles  Brongniart,  the  celebrated  student  of  fossil  insects,  described 
both  Carboniferous^®  and  Lower  Cretaceous^^  insect  galleries  in  petri- 
fied woods,  even  naming  the  insects  that  caused  them  as  Hylesinus 
and  Bostrychus  respectively.  Similar  Permian  material  has  been 
described  by  Kusta^®  from  Bohemian  material,  and  still  more  con\dn- 
cing  traces  of  insect  activities  have  been  described  by  Kolbe"^  from 
borings  of  Upper  Cretaceous  wood  from  Syria  (Curculionites),  by 
Kolbe  and  QuenstedU®  from  Oligocene  woods,  and  by  PonzP®  from 
Pliocene  woods. 

Williamson,  W.  C.,  Phil.  Trans.  Roy.  Soc.  Lond.,  vol.  171,  p.  493,  pi.  20,  figs.  65,  66, 

1880. 

Geinitz,  H.  B.,  Charakteristik  der  Schichten  und  Petrefacten  des  sachsischen  Kreid- 
gebirges,  p.  12,  pis.  3-6,  1842. 

Geinitz,  H.  B.,  Die  Versteinerungen  der  Steinkohlenformation  in  Sachsen,  p.  1,  pi.  8, 
figs.  1,  4,  1855. 

Desmarest,  E.,  Ann.  Soc.  Ent.  France,  2e  ser.  tome  3,  p.  26,  1845. 

Brongniart,  C.,  Idem.,  5e  ser.  tome  7,  pp.  215-220,  pi.  7ii,  figs.  1-6, 1877. 

Brongniart,  C.,  Idem.,  tome  6,  p.  117,  1876. 

Kfista,  J.,  Sitz.  k.  Bohm.  GeseU.  Wiss.  1880,  pp.  202-203. 

“ Kolbe,  H.  J.,  Zeits.  deutsch.  geol.  GeseU.  Jahrg.  1888,  pp.  131-137,  pi.  11. 

**  Quenstedt,  F.  A.,  Handbuch  der  Petrefactenkunde,  3 aufl.  p.  482,  pi.  37,  1885. 

Ponzi,  G.,  Atti  real  accad.  Lincei,  2 ser.  vol.  3,  p.  37,  pi.  3,  figs.  1-3,  1876. 


PALEOPHYTOPA  THOLOGY 


109 


DESCRIPTIONS  OF  PLATES  XI-XIII  ILLUSTRATING  CHAPTERS  II  AND  III 


no 


PALEOPATHOLOGY 


PLATE  XI 

PALEOZOIC  EXAMPLES  OF  PARASITISM 

The  two  upper  figures  are  cystids  showing  pathologic  encrustations  possibly 
due  to  sponges.  These  cystids,  primitive  echinoderms,  are  knowm  as  Holocystites 
canneus  and  are  derived  from  the  Niagaran  Limestone,  Silurian  of  Jefferson 
County,  Indiana. 

The  two  lower  figures  show  examples  of  two  crinoids,  Aesocrmus  magnificus, 
with  attached  gastropods,  forming  a benign  example  of  parasitism  or  dependent 
association  which  may  have  been  the  origin  of  certain  forms  of  disease.  The  gastro- 
pod shells,  attached  over  the  anus  of  the  crinoids,  may  be  recognized  as  cap-shaped 
bodies  to  the  left  in  each  case.  The  specimens  are  derived  from  the  Upper  Coal 
Measures  near  Kansas  City,  Mo.  The  snail  shells  have  the  name  of  Platyceras  and 
resemble  somewhat  the  modern  limpets. 

All  four  specimens  in  Walker  Museum,  University  of  Chicago. 


Plate  XI 


PALEOPHYTOPA  THOLOGY 


111 


112 


PALEOPATHOLOGY 


PLATE  XII 

PALEOPHYTOPATHOLOGY 

a.  Gall  from  the  Dakota  sandstone,  resembling  oak-leaf  gall.  (Upper  Creta- 
ceous) (After  Lesquereux). 

h.  Impression  of  Ulodendron  mmus  L.  and  H.  from  the  Carboniferous  of  Eng- 
land. (After  Schenk.) 

c.  Cladosporites  fascicidatus  Berry  on  vessels  of  Laurinoxylon  from  the  Middle 
Eocene  of  Texas.  Fossil  fungi.  X 400  (After  Berry). 


Plate  XII 


i 


PALEOPHYTOPA  THOLOGY 


113 


PLATE  XIII 


114 


PALEOPATHOLOGY 


PLATE  xm 

DISEASED  EOSSIL  LEAVES 

a.  Spot  Fungus  on  a Lower  Eocene  leaf  of  Diospyros.  (After  Berry.) 

b.  Cone  galls  on  a Lower  Eocene  leaf.  (After  Berry.) 

c.  Petiolar  gall  on  a Lower  Eocene  leaf.  (After  Berry.) 


I 


r 


Plate  XIII 


CHAPTER  IV 


CALLUS  AND  FRACTURE  IN  FOSSIL  VERTEBRATES 

The  oldest  known  fractures.  Histology  of  Permian  fractures.  A Triassic  fracture. 
Fracture  and  callus  in  the  dinosaurs.  Fractures  among  early  mammals.  Fractures  among 
the  Pleistocene  mammals.  Fractures  in  the  American  Bison.  Descriptions  of  Plates  XIV- 
XXVI  and  Figures  8 to  11  Illustrating  Chapter  IV.  F igures  8-11  and  Plates  XlV-XiXVI. 

Healed  fractures  accompanied  by  more  or  less  callus  with  often 
extensive  necrotic  sinuses  are  fairly  abundant  among  the  known 
remains  of  extinct  vertebrates,  and  numerous  instances  have  already 
been  cited  in  a discussion  of  previous  studies  on  paleopathology. 
Every  geological  age  from  the  Permian  on  has  furnished  examples  of 
fractures  afflicting  various  parts  of  the  body.  The  limb  bones,  of  course, 
are  frequently  broken  but  the  most  common  type  of  fracture  among 
extinct  animals  is  in  the  ribs.  A few  skull  fractures  are  known,  but  the 
shape  of  the  skull  of  early  vertebrates  was  so  different  from  the  human 
skull  that  we  can  form  no  comparison  between  them  on  the  basis  of 
the  modern  surgical  work  on  skull  fractures. 

Some  idea  of  the  nature  of  untreated  fractures  and  the  enormous 
formation  of  callus  in  wdld  anim.als  is  to  be  had  from  a study  of  Duck- 
worth’s contribution  (1912)  on  the  natural  repair  of  fractures  in  apes. 
In  the  Carnegie  Museum  at  Pittsburg  there  is  a gorilla  skeleton  present- 
ing a huge  callus  on  one  humerus  due  to  a bullet  wound.  Doubtless 
the  degree  of  callus  in  lower  and  higher  vertebrates  is  a matter  of 
blood  pressure.  In  the  sluggish  heterothermal  reptiles  it  v/ould  be  no 
hardship  for  them  to  stay  in  one  place  when  injured,  for  almost  any 
length  of  time.  Their  digestive  apparatus  required  food  only  once 
every  few  weeks  or  days  depending  on  the  weather.  But  among  the 
isothermal  mammals  with  high  blood  pressure  there  is  always  consider- 
able restlessness  under  restraint.  In  view  of  these  considerations  we 
can  understand  how  the  early  reptilian  fractures  healed  with  so  little 
callus,  while  the  mammalian  fractures  often  heal  with  considerable 
ca^us,  since  continued  irritation  of  the  wound  results  in  the  produc- 
tion of  more  callus.  The  formation  of  necrotic  sinuses  is  another 
matter,  though  partly  dependent  on  the  movements  of  the  wounded 
animal.  If  the  skin  were  broken  by  the  extrusion  of  a broken  bone  the 
ingress  of  infecting  bacteria  would  ensue.  This  is  doubtless  what 


115 


116 


PALEOPATHOLOGY 


happened  in  the  long  snouted  phytosaur  from  the  Triassic  which  suf- 
fered a skull  fracture.  The  healing  process  was  slow,  with  the  forma- 
tion of  abundant  callus  and  extensive  necrotic  sinuses  which  have 
burrowed  their  way  through  the  surrounding  bone.  The  followng 
discussion  will  treat  of  the  successive  geological  evidences  of  fracture 
and  callus,  beginning  vdth  the  earliest  evidences  of  such  traumatism. 

THE  OLDEST  KNOWN  FRACTURES 

An  examination  of  the  figure  of  the  limb  bone  of  the  ancient  reptile, 
Dimetrodon,  (Plate  XIV,  b and  XV,  c)  will  show  the  nature  of  the 
oldest  fracture  and  callus.  The  bone  is  the  left  radius  and  it  is  from  the 
Permian  of  Texas.  The  specimen  is  the  property  of  the  University  of 
Chicago  and  I am  indebted  to  the  late  director.  Dr.  S.  W.  Williston,  for 
the  privilege  of  studying  this  interesting  and  important  specimen. 

Dimetrodon  was  one  of  the  most  bizarre  of  all  the  ancient  reptiles, 
and  they  abounded  in  grotesque  forms.  This  curious  reptile  was  a 
slow-moving,  harmless  animal,  though  provided  with  a terrific  set  of 
long,  sharp  canine  and  incisor  teeth.  It  lived  possibly  on  land  in  the 
neighborhood  of  ponds  and  streams.  The  brain  case  is  exceedingly 
small,  the  space  being  no  larger  than  the  ball  of  one’s  finger,  in  a skull 
twelve  to  fourteen  inches  long,  so  it  could  not  have  been  ver>’  pugna- 
cious though  doubtless  carnivorous  in  habit.  The  character  which  gives 
the  form  its  oddity  is  the  extreme  extension  of  the  vertebral  spines, 
which  in  the  middle  of  the  back  extended  into  the  air  for  fully  a meter. 
These  spines  were  doubtless  connected  by  a membrane,  as  indicated 
in  the  restoration  (Fig.  8).  These  spines  on  a related  form,  Edaphosau- 
rus  cruciger,  were  provided  with  cross  bars  like  the  mast  of  a ship. 
The  purpose  of  this  curious  development  is  wholly  conjectural,  although 
it  has  led  some  students  to  suggest  an  aquatic  habit  for  the  form. 
Case  says  regarding  them: 

The  elongate  spines  were  useless,  so  far  as  I can  imagine.  It  is  impossible^to 
conceive  of  them  as  useful  either  for  defense  or  concealment,  or  in  any  other  way 
than  as  a great  burden  to  the  creatures  that  bore  them.  They  must  have  been  a 
nuisance  in  getting  through  the  vegetation,  and  a great  strain  upon  the  creature’s 
vitality  both  to  develop  them  and  to  keep  them  in  repair.  The  genus  succeeded 
despite  of  them,  or  perished  because  of  them. 

Gilmore^  has  described  a mounted  skeleton  of  Dimetrodon  which 
exhibits  several  fractured  spines,  one  of  them  vuth  two  fractures. 

* Charles  W.  Gilmore:  1919.  A.  mounted  skeleton  of  Dimetrodon  gigas  in  the  United 
States  National  Museum  with  notes  on  the  skeletal  anatomy.  Proc.  U.  S.  Natl.  Museum,-56, 
525-539,  pis.  70-73. 


CALLUS  AND  FRACTURES 


117 


The  left  radius  of  one  of  these  bizarre  animals  had  in  some  way 
suffered  a complete,  though  simple,  fracture  somewhat  below  the  mid- 
dle of  the  bone.  The  fracture  line,  sharply  marked  by  some  intermediary 
callus,  is  still  clearly  evident  in  a clean  cut,  almost  straight  line,  run- 
ning squarely  across  the  body  of  the  bone.  The  union  is  a good  one, 
the  bone  having  healed  with  little  or  no  shortening.  The  resulting 
callus  is  not  extensive  and  has  not  obscured  the  straight  line  of  the 
fracture. 

The  limb  bones  of  the  great  majority  of  the  early  reptiles  were  solid 
and  all  of  the  early  fractures  were  simple  ones.  An  X-Ray  study  of 
the  bone  (Fig.  d,  Plate  XIV)  has  furnished  no  information  about  the 
nature  of  the  fracture  since  the  bone  is  infiltrated  with  iron  from  the 
Red  Beds  in  which  it  was  fossilized,  and  is  thus  impenetrable  to  the 
X-rays. 

The  caUus  is  evident  as  a pronounced  swelling  on  the  bone.  Its 
surface  is  smooth,  being  interrupted  on  one  side  by  a vascular  opening, 
possibly  for  an  arteria  perforans.  The  slight  development  of  the  caUus 
may  be  accounted  for  from  the  probable  sluggish  habits  of  the  animal 
and  its  undoubted  inactivity  subsequent  to  the  injury. 

A microscopical  examination  of  a section  taken  from  the  line  of  the 
'fracture  reveals  a highly  vascular  callus,  the  blood  spaces  being  filled 
with  matrix.  The  osseous  trabeculae  are  pure  white  with  an  abun- 
dance of  osteoid  tissue.  There  are  few  evidences  of  lamellae  and  scat- 
tering lacunae  whose  length  parallels  the  length  of  the  trabeculae. 
CanaHculi  are  not  evident.  The  line  of  the  fracture,  filled  in  life  with 
intermediary  callus  of  a cartilaginous  nature,  is  in  the  fossil  bone 
represented  by  a substance  entirely  different  from  the  matrix  filling  the 
vascular  spaces  and  from  the  osseous  trabeculae.  It  may  represent 
’an  imperfect  fossihzation  of  the  calcified  cartilage.  Bodies  resembling 
cartilage  cells  are  evident  at  a magnification  of  250  in  the  fracture  line; 
but  the  substance  is  so  distorted  by  calcite  crystals  that  it  is  not  possible 
to  be  sure. 

Another  example  of  a fracture  from  the  same  geological  horizon, 
i.e.,  the  Permian  Red  Beds  of  Texas,  furnishes  information  with  refer- 
ence to  an  old  callus,  which  it  will  be  interesting  to  study. 

The  fracture,  (Fig.  d,  Plate  XV)  is  through  a rib,  or  possibly  one  of 
the  elongate  vertebral  spines  of  doubtless  the  same  form,  Dimetrodon, 
to  which  the  left  radius  belonged.  The  callus  is  slight  and  is  assuredly 
in  old  one,  for  the  fracture  had  completely  healed  and  there  is  no  indi- 
tation  of  intermediary  callus. 


118 


PALEOPATHOLOGY 


A Study  of  the  microscopic  section,  made  by  the  well-known  petro- 
graphic methods,  reveals  many  evidences  of  an  old  callus  such  as  we 
are  familiar  with  today.  Osteosclerosis  and  osteohypertrophy  are 
clearly  indicated  and  are  often  seen  in  old  calluses  of  modern  times. 
The  region  in  the  lower  part  of  the  figure  (Plate  XVI)  is  interpreted 
as  an  osteosclerotic  area,  the  conclusion  being  based  on  the  absence  of 
osseous  trabeculae  and  the  presence  of  a heavy  deposit  of  calcium 
salts,  or  other  inorganic  substance.  The  white  band  running  from 
right  to  left  through  the  figure  is  a spicule  of  bone  filling  in  a fissure  in 
the  splintered  bone,  thus  indicating  an  approach  to  a green  stick 
fracture.  The  bony  nature  of  this  spicule  is  easily  established  by  the 
presence  of  osseous  lacunae  with  slight  canaliculi.  The  h>"pertrophied 
area  is  to  be  observed  in  the  upper  right  hand  portion  of  the  figure. 
The  interpretation  is  based  on  the  presence  of  numerous  well-developed 
osseous  trabeculae.  There  is  no  evidence  that  the  fracture  wms  infected, 
necrotic  sinuses  being  entirely  wanting. 

An  extremely  interesting  fracture  of  a large  vertebral  spine  of  a 
Permian  reptile  is  shown  in  Plate  XV,  a,  and  the  nature  of  the  ensuing 
hypertrophy  is  shown  in  Plate  XXI.  Since  this  fracture  had  become 
infected  and  developed  a chronic  osteomyelitis  I have  deferred  detailed 
discussion  of  this  object  to  Chapter  VII,  where  it  is  discussed  with 
other  chronic  infections. 

A completely  healed  fracture  of  the  fibula  of  Edaphosaurus  is  shown 
in  Plate  XV,  b and  the  histolog}^  of  the  old  callus  is  given  in  Plate 
XVIII,  c and  d.  This  case  of  fracture  is  interesting  as  an  accompani- 
ment of  the  incompletely  healed  radius  (Plate  XV,  c)  showing  two 
stages  in  the  heahng  of  fractures  in  ancient  times.  Neither  fracture 
had  become  infected,  and  both  healed  in  an  extremely  fine  condition. 
The  fracture  of  the  fibula,  slightly  oblique,  occurred  near  the  middle 
of  the  bone.  Although  the  fossil  bone  has  nearly  the  hardness  of  iron, 
material  for  microscopic  sections  was  removed  from  the  periphery  of 
the  callus  and  sections  were  made  in  the  laboratory  of  the  U.  S.  Geo- 
logical Survey. 

HISTOLOGY  OF  PERMIAN  FRACTURES 

The  histology  of  this  Permian  callus  is  shown  in  Plate  X\  III,  c 
and  d,  where  the  photomicrographs  are  shown  in  comparison  wdth 
more  recent  callus  in  an  American  bison  from  the  plains  of  Kansas. 
The  histology  of  Permian  bones  resembles  more  nearly  that  of  older 
Paleozoic  vertebrates  than  it  does  that  of  later  Mesozoic  forms  in  the 


CALLUS  AND  FRACTURES 


119 


presence  of  abundant  osteoid  tissue  which  in  modern  human  bones  is 
so  often  an  indication  of  pathology.  It  is  not  the  case  among  Paleozoic 
bones,  however,  since  osteoid  tissue  is  the  normal  constituent  of  the 
bone  and  the  pathological  disturbances  often  result  in  the  formation 
of  Haversian  systems.  This  has  been  noted  in  a modern  femur  of  a 
bull-frog  (Rana  cateshiana)  where  the  new  cancellous  bone  in  the 
repaired  fracture^"*  is  laid  down  with  an  arrangement  similar  to  that 
• seen  in  Haversian  systems. 

Seitz^  has  described  the  histology  of  the  bones  of  fossil  and  recent 
reptiles,  dealing  fully  with  the  Reptilia  of  the  Mesozoic.  His  fourteen 
I plates  of  photomicrographs  furnish  much  data  on  the  histology  of 
normal  fossil  bone.  His  results  have  been  confirmed  by  an  investiga- 
tion which  I conducted®  into  the  comparative  histology  of  fossil  bone. 
The  material  at  my  disposal  consisted  of  some  150  macroscopic  sections 
of  fossil  bone  ranging  in  age  from  the  Silurian  sharks,  through  the 
Devonian  fishes,  the  reptilia  chiefly  of  the  Permian,  Triassic,  Coman- 
chean,  Cretaceous  and  Tertiary  mammals,  supplemented  by  a few 
slides  representing  Carboniferous  fishes.  Unfortunately  I was  unable 
to  study  the  histology  of  the  higher  Carboniferous  vertebrates.  Suffi- 
cient was  at  hand  however  to  show  clearly  the  nature  of  the  histology 
of  fossil  bone.  Such  a survey  was  very  essential  in  order  to  interpret 
the  histologic  nature  of  fossil  lesions. 

The  fact  that  osteoid  tissue  is  abundant  in  the  bones  of  fishes  was 
known  to  Kblliker  and  other  early  writers  in  histology.  Kolliker  espe- 
cially tells  of  his  investigations  into  the  histology  of  the  skeletal  ele- 
ments of  fishes  of  many  genera.  The  osteoid  tissue  is  not  quite  so 
abundant  in  the  bones  of  reptiles  as  in  fishes  but  is  still  an  important 
constituent.  The  lacunae  are  always  smiall,  not  much  larger  if  any, 
than  in  human  bone.  The  canaliculi  attached  to  the  spindle-shaped 
lacunae  are  always  short  and  so  far  as  I can  determine  they  never 
anastomose  in  normal  fossil  reptilian  bone.  The  canaliculi  seldom 
branch  and  end  blindly  in  the  osteoid  tissue.  Often,  as  many  students 

J.  S.  Foote.  1916.  A Contribution  to  the  Histology  of  the  Femur.  Smithsonian  Con- 
tributions to  Knowledge,  xxxv,  No.  3,  pi.  1,  fig.  5. 

“Adolf  Leo  Ludwig  Seitz.  1907.  Vergleichende  Studien  ueber  den  mikroskopischen 
Knochenbau  fossiler  und  rezenter  ReptUien  und  dessen  Bedeutung  fiir  das  Wachstum  und 
Umbildung  des  Knochengewebes  im  allgemeinen. 

Nova  Acta.  Abh.  der  Kaiserl.  Leop.-Carol.  Deutschen  Akademie  der  Naturforscher. 
Halle.  Ed.  LXXXVII,  nr.  2,  pp.  1-145  (230-370),  Taf.  XI-XXIV. 

“ Histology  of  the  Elements  of  the  Haversian  System  in  Fossil  Norm.al  and  Pathologic  Bone. 
56  pp.  14  plates.  Prepared  for  the  Wfiliston  Memorial  Volume,  but  not  yet  published. 


120 


PALEOPATHOLOGY 


have  shown,  these  lacunae  and  the  canaliculi  contain  bacteria,  chiefly 
those  of  decay.  This  subject,  illustrated  by  photomicrographs  is 
discussed  at  length  in  Chapter  IX,  dealing  vdth  the  bacteriology"  of  past 
geological  ages.  In  normal  fossil  bone  the  lamellae  are  seldom  evident 
but  under  pathologic  conditions  they  become  prominent.  The  inter- 
stitial cement  seems  to  hypertrophy  under  diseased  states.  Perforat- 
ing fibers  of  Sharpey  are  known  in  Cretaceous  mosasaurs,  but  there 
seems  to  be  from  present  evidence,  no  definite  progressive  states  in  the 
evolution  of  the  histology  of  bone  other  than  the  gradual  replacement 
of  the  osteoid  tissue  by  lacunae,  canaliculi  and  lamellae.  This  is  of 
course  the  same  sort  of  evolution  as  is  evidenced  by  external  form,  but 
the  transitions  are  less  abrupt. 

The  histology  of  the  bones  of  Permian  reptiles,  and  those  of  later 
ages  as  well,  seems  to  be  characterized  also  by  the  presence  of  abundant 
large  vascular  channels  which  are  exaggerated  in  pathologic  states. 
Around  these  large  canals,  which  may  be  considered  as  primitive  Haver- 
sian canals  are  arranged  the  lamellae  carrying  the  lacunae  w"hich  they 
parallel.  Such  a condition  is  shown  in  Plate  XVII,  b,  c and  d.  These 
figures  represent  the  histology  of  the  callus  near  an  old  fracture  of  a 
rib  (shown  in  Plate  XV,  d)  and  illustrates  well  what  I have  said  about 
Haversian  arrangements  following  injuries.  A similar  condition  is 
observed  in  pathologic  mosasaur  bones  from  the  Cretaceous.  In  no 
case  among  fossil  reptilian  bone,  either  normal  or  pathologic,  has  an 
anastomosis  between  the  canaliculi  of  adjoining  lacunae  been  demon- 
strated. For  this  reason  I have  used  the  term  pseudo-Haversian  for 
these  systems  which  seemx  incomplete,  using  an  Haversian  system  as 
seen  in  a modern  human  femur  as  a ty^pe.  The  origin  of  the  Haversian 
system  has  been  previously  discussed^  and  it  wdU  not  be  necessary"  to 
repeat  here  the  facts  concerning  this  matter.  Arey®  has  also  discussed 
the  general  nature  of  the  Haversian  system,  thus  adding  data  to  the 
discussion  of  the  histology  of  bone  begun  by  Kolliker.® 

We  may  summarize  the  histology"  of  Permian  reptilian  bones  by 
saying  that  the  lacunae  are  few,  small,  and  w"idely"  scattered  through- 
out the  osteoid  substance.  The  canalicuH  are  short  and  unbranched 

^ Roy  L.  Mooclie,  1920.  The  Nature  of  the  Primitive  Haversian  Sj^tem.  Anat.  Rec., 
xix,  no.  1,  47-50,  1 pi. 

® L.  B.  Arey,  1919.  On  the  presence  of  Haversian  Systems  in  membrane  bone.  .Anat. 
Rec.,  xvii,  59-62. 

® A.  Kolliker,  1857.  On  the  different  t>"pes  in  the  microscopic  structure  of  the  skeleton 
of  osseous  fishes.  Proc.  Roy.  Soc.  London,  Lx,  656-668. 


CALLUS  AND  FRACTURES 


121 


and  lamellae  are  chiefly  evident  in  pathologic  bone.  Perforating  fibers 
have  not  been  seen  in  Permian  bone.®^ 

By  referring  to  the  Tabulation  of  Geological  Evidences  it  is  to  be 
seen  that  the  age  of  these  fractures,  if  measured  in  years,  is  something 
like  20,000,000  years.  A comparison  of  the  healing  processes  of  these 
ancient  bones  with  mod'ern  fractures  reveals  the  interesting  fact  that 
nature  established,  in  the  early  periods  of  vertebrate  development,  a 
method  for  the  repair  of  fractures  which  prevails  today. 

A TRIASSIC  FRACTURE 

' There  existed  during  the  Triassic,  the  opening  period  of  the  Meso- 
zoic, a group  of  aquatic  reptiles,  known  as  the  Phytosauria,  in  North 
America,  Europe,  and  East  India.  These  creatures  had  very  elongate 
heads  with  nostrils  set  far  back  on  the  snout,  just  anterior  to  the  eyes. 
The  tip  of  the  long  snout  was  fitted  with  long  teeth  doubtless  for  the 
purpose  of  extracting  food  from  the  mud,  into  which  it  burrowed  with 
its  elongate  snout.  One  of  these  creatures,  either  in  a fight,  or  in  turn- 
ing a large  stone  for  a wayward  mollusc,  had  the  mdsfortune  to  break 
his  snout,  and  thus  furnishes  us,  many  millions  of  years  later,  the 
opportunity  of  studying  the  nature  of  an  infected  fracture. 

This  interesting  lesion  (Fig.  c,  Plate  XXVI)  is  through  the  anterior 
end  of  the  skull,  just  in  front  of  the  nostrils,  of  Mystriosuchus  Plienin- 
\eri  described  by  von  Huene  (1911)  from  the  Triassic  (Stubensandstein) 
of  Aixheim,  Germany.  Von  Huene’s  description  gives  a good  idea  of 
the  details  of  the  lesion. 

Anterior  to  the  nostrils  there  is  a deep  oval,  abnormal  depression,  due  to  the 
njury,  around  which  the  bony  surface  drops  off  sharply.  It  extends  in  length  8 cm. 
■)y  4.5  cm.  wide  from  the  anterior  border  of  the  right  nostril  to  the  right  maxilla, 
oince  the  septomaxilla  and  the  nasals  of  the  right  and  left  halves  of  the  skull  have 
jit  this  place  an  unusual  width,  with  remarkable  dimensions,  the  injury  must  have 
)een  received  during  the  youth  of  the  animal,  long  before  growth  ceased.  As  the 
ikuU  was  being  freed  from  the  matrix  there  lay  in  the  depression  a siliceous  pebble 
which  exactly  fitted  the  opening,  and  which  it  was  necessary  to  break  in  order  to 
emove  it.  But  I do  not  believe  that  this  pebble  was  the  cause  of  the  injury  since 
t is  exactly  similar  in  all  its  characters  to  another  pebble  found  near  the  right  ptery- 
I’oid  process  of  the  basisphenoid.  There  are  similar  objects  scattered  throughout 
ihe  entire  block  of  stone,  and  the  matrix  was  more  or  less  silicified.  The  sihceous 
'ebble  and  the  silification  of  the  stone  are  secondary  matters.  I can  only  account 
br  the  injury  by  assuming  that  it  may  have  been  caused  by  a falling  or  rolling  stone 
l:om  some  hillside  which  broke  the  snout  while  the  animal  was  still  young. 

**In  the  preparation  and  study  of  the  microscopic  anatomy  of  fossil  bone,  described 
;i  this  volume,  aid  was  rendered  by  the  National  Academy  of  Science  and  the  American 
ssociation  for  the  Advancement  of  Science,  both  of  which  organizations  made  grants  to  aid 
I preparing  sections  and  for  making  photomicrographs. 


122 


PALEOPA  THOLOGY 


On  the  dorsal  surface  of  the  skull  there  is  an  extensive  semicircular 
necrotic  sinus,  with  the  surrounding  surfaces  carious.  The  lesion  is 
available  for  study  only  through  von  Huene’s  descriptions  and  figures 
and  a microscopical  examination  is  not  possible  at  present.  The  skull 
is  in  the  museum  of  geology  at  the  University  of  Tubingen,  Germany. 

Huene’s  photograph  is  given  in  Plate  XXVI,  c.  The  lesion  is  not 
very  clear  in  the  photograph,  but  Abel  has  given  a pen  drawdng  which 
shows  something  of  the  nature  of  the  patholog5^  Abel’s  deductions'** 
regarding  the  possible  pathological  nature  of  the  more  anterior  swelling 
(Plate  XXVI,  c)  are  extremely  interesting  and  if  correct  widen  the  scope 
of  paleopathology  considerably.  The  curious  eminences  on  the  snouts 
of  the  parasuchians  have  been  well  known  to  students  of  vertebrate 
paleontology  for  a long  tipie  but  no  one  has  before  attempted  a solution 
of  their  nature.  Abel  now  suggests  that  they  are  wounds  which  are 
the  results  of  bites  (Bissverletzungen)  received  in  fights,  and  since 
the  male  is  the  most  pugnacious  of  modern  similar  reptiles,  the  skulls 
showing  these  fossil  eminences  are  the  skulls  of  males.  He  supports  his 
conclusions  by  comparisons  with  modern  reptilia,  long-beaked  birds, 
and  beaked  mammals. 

The  eminences  do  not  all  occur  in  the  same  situation  on  the  snout 
of  the  parasuchians,  and  there  may  be  more  than  one;  but  curiously 
enough  they  usually  occupy  the  median  line  of  the  skull.  They  do  not 
have  all  the  external  appearances  of  pathological  lesions  of  a traumatic 
nature  and  until  they  have  been  more  carefully’  studied  from  the 
pathological  viewpoint  we  cannot  be  sure  that  Abel  is  right,  though 
his  deductions  appear  sound.  He  concludes  that  many  genera  and 
species  of  Phytosauria  have  been  established  on  the  basis  of  patho- 
logic skulls.  If  this  proves  to  be  true  it  will  indeed  be  an  important 
addition  to  our  conceptions  of  paleopathology^ 

FRACTURE  AND  CALLUS  IN  THE  DINOSAURS 

The  dinosaurs  were  the  most  characteristic  reptiles  of  the  Mesozoic. 
Their  world-wide  distribution,  their  diversity  of  form  among  the 
scores  of  species  known,  their  gigantic  size  and  the  causes  of  their 
extinction  have  appealed  to  the  imagination  of  the  scientific  paleontolo- 
gist and  to  the  general  student  of  biologyL  No  group  of  extinct  verte- 
brates is  so  widely  known  among  the  reading  public.  The  remains 
(Plate  XXVIII)  of  these  creatures  are  exceedingly  abundant  and  no 

O.  Abel:  Die  Schnauzenverletzungen  der  Parasuchier  und  mre  biologische  Bedeutung. 
Paleontologische  Zeitschrift,  Bd.  V,  Heft  1,  pp.  26-57,  figs.  1-10, 1922. 


CALLUS  AND  FRACTURES 


123 


natural  history  museum  is  complete  without  some  representation  of 
their  bones.  The  weathered  fragments  of  the  gigantic  vertebrae  and 
limb  bones  furnished  the  sheep  herders  of  Wyoming  materials  for  the 
erection  of  their  winter  cabins.  The  scarcity  of  evidences  of  disease 
among  these  ancient  reptiles  is  noteworthy  but  occasional  individuals 
show  evidences  of  injury  and  disease.  The  discussion  of  fractures  in 
their  skeletons  will  be  given  here.  Elsewhere  (Chapter  V)  is  given  an 
account  of  the  tumors  and  arthrltides  of  the  dinosaurs.  The  necroses 
are  discussed  in  Chapter  VII. 

An  enormous  fractured  rib  (Plate  XXIII,  d)  of  one  of  the  most 
gigantic  dinosaurs,  Apatosaurus,  is  on  exhibition  in  the  Field  Museum 
of  Natural  History  in  Chicago.  This  lesion  has  been  referred  to  by 
Riggs  (1903),  who  says: 

The  right  member  of  the  fifth  pair  of  ribs  is  of  interest  in  having  an  enlargement 
in  the  shaft  due  to  an  imperfectly  healed  fracture.  The  adjoining  rib  has  a similar 
fracture  which  failed  to  heal. 

It  must  have  taken  a terrific  blow  to  have  produced  the  fracture  of  these 
two  ribs  and  could  only  have  been  inflicted  by  another  dinosaur.  The 
lesion  was  not  infected  since  there  are  no  necrotic  sinuses.  The  fracture 
was  a simple  one  as  the  bone  was  sohd  and  healed  with  the  production 
of  only  a moderate  amiount  of  callus. 

The  limb  bones  of  the  huge  reptiles  of  the  Mesozoic  were  seldom 
fractured,  because  of  their  great  size  and  strength.  A single  limb  bone 
of  one  of  the  largest  dinosaurs  has  a length  of  six  feet  and  a weight,  as 
fossilized,  of  about  700  pounds.  But  one  of  the  horned  dinosaurs  of  the 
Edmonton  Cretaceous  of  Canada,  discovered  by  Barnum  Brown  and 
preserved  in  the  American  Museum  of  Natural  History,  had  suffered 
an  oblique  fracture  of  the  humerus  which  healed  in  a very  bad  way, 
because  of  an  intense  infection.  The  infection  produced  one  of  the 
sickest  looking  fossil  bones  known.  On  the  anterior  surface  of  the 
bone  the  periosteum  had  doubtless  been  greatly  elevated  by  an  ingrowth 
of  callus,  which  later  ossified  into  a bridge  of  bone  connecting  the  lower 
articular  surface  with  the  enormous  deltoid  crest,  and  covering  an 
enormous  abscess,  capable  of  holding  several  liters  of  pus.  This  is  the 
only  known  fossil  example  of  a subperiosteal  abscess?  There  is  no 

’’  The  normal  form  of  the  bone  of  this  dinosaur  is  described  by  Barnum  Brown,  1913. 
A new  trachodont  dinosaur,  Hypacrosaurus,  from  the  Edmonton  Cretaceous  of  Alberta. 
Bull.  Amer.  Mus.  Natl.  Hist.,  xxxii,  403,  with  figures.  The  fractured  bone  exhibiting  the 
subperiosteal  abscess  was  an  isolated  left  humerus.  The  abscess  may  have  penetrated  the 
pleural  cavity  since  the  lesion  is  on  the  medial  side  of  the  bone,  adjacent  to  the  ribs. 


124 


PALEOPATHOLOGY 


definite  indication  that  the  infection  ever  completely  healed  and  the 
dinosaur  doubtless  had  a huge  sore  discharging  pus  from  his  arm  for 
many  months  and  up  to  the  time  of  his  death.  Besides  indicating  an 
interesting  new  type  of  pathology  for  Cretaceous  reptiles  this  lesion 
also  furnished  undoubted  proofs  of  the  presence  at  that  epoch  of  infec- 
tive bacteria. 

The  right  ramus  of  the  jaw  (Plate  XXVI,  a)  of  one  of  the  three- 
horned dinosaurs,  Triceratops  serratus,  (Figure  9)  preserved  in  the 
Yale  University  Museum  and  derived  from  the  Lance  formation  of 
Niobrara  County,  Wyoming,  exhibits  a healed  fracture  which  has 
been  accompanied  by  no  callus.  The  jaw  is  slightly  deformed,  indicat- 
ing poor  alignment,  and  suggesting  that  the  fracture  may  have  been 
of  the  green  stick  type.  Apparently  all  of  the  solid-boned  reptiles  had 
simple  fractures  and  the  fine  across  the  mandible  indicates  that  this 
was  of  the  simple  type. 

A broken  and  healed  horn  core  of  another  three  horned  dinosaur 
(Fig.  a,  Plate  IX)  indicates  something  of  the  traumatic  influences  to 
which  these  animals  were  subjected.  This  specimen  is  in  the  U.  S. 
National  Museum  and  I owe  the  photograph  to  the  courtesy  of  Mr. 
Charles  Gilmore.  Elsewhere  (Chapter  V)  it  is  suggested  that  the  large 
tumor  in  the  tail  of  one  of  the  sauropodous  dinosaurs  may  be  the 
result  of  a fracture. 

FRACTURES  AMONG  THE  EARLY  MAMMALS 

Broken  and  healed  bones  are  very  common  among  the  fossil  mam- 
mals and  no  attempt  will  be  made  to  discuss  here  all  of  the  known 
examples,  but  rather  to  select  examples  of  typical  fractures  of  succeed- 
ing geological  periods.  There  is  no  reason  to  e.xpect  that  traumatic 
influences  among  the  early  mammals  were  any  different  from  what  they 
are  today  among  the  feral  ungulates  and  carnivores.  Heahng  processes 
were  likewise  the  same. 

There  have  not  been  seen,  so  far  as  I can  learn,  any  indications  of 
traumatisms  among  the  scanty  remains  of  the  small  IMesozoic  IMamma- 
lia,  so  we  begin  our  discussion  with  the  ankylosed  elbow-joint  in  an 
Eocene  mammal,  Ectoconus . This  arm,  as  preserved  in  the  American 
Museum  of  Natural  History,  is  that  of  a small,  primitive,  five-toed 
Paleocene  ungulate.  It  had  in  life  suffered  a fracture  of  the  left  humerus 
immediately  above  the  condyles,  and  the  ensuing  infection  resulted  in 
the  coalescence  of  the  articular  end  of  the  humerus  in  the  olecranal 
fossa.  A pseudarthrosis  was  formed  between  the  fractured  end  of  the 


CALLUS  AND  FRACTURES 


125 


humerus  and  the  radius,  though  some  new  joint  surfaces  occur  also 
on  the  ulna.  A similar  fracture  is  described  in  the  American  bison  at 
the  end  of  this  chapter.  The  joint  surfaces,  in  Ectoconus,  were  dense 
and  eburnated,  recalling  in  their  ivory-like  consistency  the  eburnated 
surfaces  in  joint  lesions  of  the  so-called  rheumatoid  arthritis.  The 
fracture  had  evidently  been  badly  infected,  for  the  whole  lateral  surface 
of  the  ulna  is  pitted  with  necrotic  sinuses  and  roughened  with  carious 
bone.  In  fossilization  the  bones  were  all  crushed  flat,  so  a detailed 
study  of  the  joint  lesion  would  not  reveal  a great  deal  more  than  is 
shown  in  an  external  examination.  The  injury  must  have  seriously 
handicapped  the  individual  but  it  survived  the  infection  since  the 
lesions  are  well  healed  over.  This  is  the  oldest  known  ankylosed  elbow 
joint,  with  an  antiquity  of  millions  of  years. 

Ectoconus  was  a herbivorous  animal  allied  to  Phenacodus  and  the 
above-described  skeletal  parts  are  derived  from  the  Puerco  Eocene  of 
New  Mexico.  The  arthritic  lesions  succeeding  the  fracture  involved 
the  humerus,  radius  and  ulna.  The  head  of  the  ulna  is  completely 
obliterated.  New  articular  surfaces  appeared  likewise  on  the  deltoid 
tubercle,  which  in  this  animal,  is  an  inch  and  a half  in  length.  There  is 
a large,  double  necrotic  sinus  on  the  proximal  end  of  the  radius.  This 
forms  an  excellent  example  of  traumatic  arthritis  deformans  in  an 
Eocene  mammal  and  the  injury  must  have  shortened  the  limb  consider- 
ably giving  the  creature  a lame,  hobbling  gait,  probably  it  held  the 
injured  member  in  the  air  and  ran  on  three  legs  when  in  danger,  as 
modern  mammals  do.  There  is  no  evidence  of  a metastasis  in  the  rest 
of  the  skeleton,  the  bones  being  perfectly  normal. 

The  mounted  skeleton  of  Titanoiherium  rohustum  (Plate  XX),  in 
the  American  Museum  of  Natural  History,  exhibits  a right  rib  which 
^ had  been  fractured  in  life  and  healed  with  considerable  callus  and  for- 
mation of  carious  bone  indicating  a severe  infection.  The  surface 
of  the  callus  is  bumpy  and  irregular  and  has  not  aided  greatly  in 
I strengthening  the  rib.  There  was  probably  a great  amount  of  irritation 
to  produce  a pseudarthrosis.  This  is  one  of  the  oldest  examples  of 
fracture  among  the  early  mammals,  the  animal  having  been  found  in 
the  White  River  Oligocene  of  South  Dakota. 

A much  older  fracture  is  that  of  the  lower  jaw  of  an  Eocene  Creo- 
dent,  Dromocyon  vorax,  one  of  the  primitive  carnivorous  forms.  The 
specimen  is  preserved  in  Yale  University  Museum  having  been  dis- 
covered in  the  Bridger  Formation  of  Wyoming.  The  fracture  has 


126 


PALEOPATHOLOGY 


healed  nicely  with  but  little  callus,  so  that  the  line  of  the  fracture  is 
hardly  evident. 

Skeletons  of  a Miocene  chalicothere,  M or  opus,  (Fig.  10)  from  the 
Agate  Spring  Quarry  of  Sioux  County,  Nebraska,  preserved  in  the 
American  Museum  of  Natural  History,  present  evidences  of  a consider- 
able number  of  fractures,  as  if  these  curious  clawed  ungulates  had  been 
much  addicted  to  severe  contests  with  other  large  animals,  or  else  the 
animal  had  been  injured  by  a fall.  One  rib,  a radius,  an  ulna,  and  a 
scapula  (Plate  XXII)  all  show  evidence  of  fracture  with  some  callus. 
The  rib  had  apparently  suffered  a double  fracture  which  healed  nicely 
with  very  little  hypertrophy  of  the  bone.  The  other  fractures  were 
accompanied  by  considerable  hyperplasia  and  the  scapula  had  been 
infected. 

The  left  tibia  and  fibula  of  Aeleurocyon,  a primitive  carnivore  from 
the  Miocene  of  Wyoming,  preserved  in  the  Field  Museum  of  Natural 
History,  shows  an  oblique  fracture  (Fig.  b,  Plate  XXIII)  invohdng 
both  bones,  as  indicated  by  the  arrows.  The  union  was  not  a very  good 
one  since  the  lines  of  the  fracture  are  still  clearly  evident.  The  fracture 
of  the  tibia  was  apparently  accompanied  by  considerable  infection  since 
there  is  a large  exostosis  on  the  adjoining  fibula  and  the  surface  of  the 
tibia  is  very  carious. 

In  the  paleontological  collections  at  Princeton  University  there 
are  several  calluses  on  the  bones,  produced  by  breaking  during  the 
life  of  the  animal,  and  an  especially  interesting  one  is  to  be  seen  in  the 
mounted  skeleton  of  Archceoiherium,  an  ancient  pig-hke  animal  from 
the  Ohgocene,  where  there  is  a pseudarthrosis.'^^ 

No  skull  fractures  are  known  among  the  earty  mammals  so  we  can 
make  no  comparisons  with  modern  traumatism.  The  brain  cases  of 
most  of  the  early  mammals  were  quite  soHd  and  weU  protected  by 
muscles  so  that  a very  severe  blow  would  be  needed  to  produce  a frac- 
ture and  this  could  only  happen  to  the  smaller  mammals,  since  the 
larger  forms  are  largely  immune.  The  horned  ungulates  did  not  appear 
until  quite  late  in  the  Tertiary  and  no  data  are  at  hand  for  a discussion 
of  broken  horn  cores. 

FRACTURES  AMONG  THE  PLEISTOCENE  M.A.MM.A.LIA 

The  mammals  of  the  Pleistocene  were  the  first  to  attract  the  atten- 
tion of  the  early  paleontologists  and  much  has  already  been  said  (Chap- 

'“W.  J.  Sinclair,  1921.  Entelodonts  from  the  Big  Badlands  of  South  Dakota  in  the 
geological  museum  of  Princeton  University.  Proc.  Amer.  Philos.  Soc. : LX,  467-495,  figs.  1, 
13,  21. 


CALLUS  AND  FRACTURES 


127 


ter  I)  about  the  fractures  and  other  injuries  of  the  cave  bears  of  Europe. 
More  is  known  of  the  pathology  of  the  Pleistocene  vertebrates  than  of 
any  other  period  with  the  exception  of  the  Cretaceous. 

The  American  mammoth  was  one  of  the  most  abundant  forms  of 
Pleistocene  mammals  and  its  remains,  with  related  species,  are  found 
widely  distributed  from  Alaska  to  Mexico,  and  from  the  Atlantic  to 
the  Pacific  coasts.  Nearly  every-one  has  seen  the  bones  of  these  ele- 
phants and  they  are  common  objects  in  all  museums.  Pathological 
I conditions  are  relatively  rare  though  something  is  known  of  the  afflic- 
tions suffered. 

A related  elephant,  the  American  Mastodon,  Mastodon  americanus, 
with  almost  as  wide  a distribution  and  of  very  common  occurrence 
furnishes  interesting  data  on  the  bone  pathology  of  these  large  beasts. 
A particularly  splendid  skeleton  from  Otisville,  New  York,  is  preserved 
, in  the  Yale  University  Museum.  This  individual  had  suffered  a skull 
fracture  of  the  left  occiput.  The  line  of  fracture  is  evident  (Fig.  a, 
Plate  XXV)  as  a long  curved  impression,  which  has  slightly  healed 
over.  The  left  rear  portion  of  the  skull  had,  in  life,  evidently  been  split 
away  and  had  subsequently  fused  fast  without  becoming  infected. 
No  callus  is  evident  from  external  examination. 

Some  unknown  cause,  possibly  connected  with  the  fracture,  though 
widely  removed  from  it,  has  produced  a local  bone  necrosis  of  the  outer 
, table  and  through  it  one  is  enabled  to  pass  a hand  into  the  diploic  air 
spaces,  which,  in  the  elephants,  are  extremely  large  and  separate  the 
brain  case  very  definitely  from  the  outer  table  of  bone.  One  is  thus 
enabled  to  understand  how  these  creatures  could  suffer  severe  skull 
fractures  or  necroses  without  danger  of  either  cerebral  hemorrhage  or 
meningitis.  The  present  animial  may  have  been  an  old  fighting  male 
for  he  had  suffered  many  injuries. 

The  xiphoid  portion  of  the  sternum  is  deformed  and  apparently 
pathological,  though  in  view  of  the  great  variations  and  deformities  seen 
in  human  sterna  no  cause  can  be  assigned  to  the  deformity  in  the  fossil. 

Two  ribs,  one  on  either  side,  had  been  fractured  (Fig.  11).  The 
fracture  on  the  right  rib  was  imperfectly  healed  and  was  accompanied 
by  a large  amount  of  callus,  though  evidently  not  infected.  The 
fracture  was  a simiple  one,  running  squarely  across  the  bone,  the  line 
of  fracture  still  being  a line  of  weakness. 

, The  fracture  in  the  left  rib  was  possibly  of  the  green  stick  type. 
The  healing  seems  to  indicate  a spht  rib,  with  a large  projecting  spicule, 
a portion  of  which  is  lost,  projecting  over  an  intercostal  artery. 


128 


PALEOPA  TEOLOGY 


The  remarkable  Pleistocene  bone  deposit  at  the  Rancho  la  Brea  of 
Southern  California,  described  by  Merriam,  (1911)  just  west  of  the 
city  of  Los  Angeles  furnishes  abundant  evidences  of  traumatism.  The 
fauna  of  these  beds  is  a very  varied  one,  furnishing  skeletons  of  wolves, 
lions,  sloths,  elephants,  horses,  camels,  birds,  saber  tooth  tigers,  and 
many  other  forms.  A graphic  idea  of  how  these  animals  became  en- 
trapped in  the  asphalt  may  be  had  by  referring  to  the  frontispiece  of 
Scott’s  History  of  Land  Mammals  in  the  Western  Hemisphere.  Here  is 
shown  a fallen  elephant,  trapped  in  the  asphalt,  attracted  thither  by 
the  water  on  the  surface  of  the  tar.  Attacking  and  quarrehng  over  the 
body  of  the  elephant  are  wolves,  some  of  them  already  caught  in  the 
tar,  saber  toothed  tigers,  while  on  a broken  limb  near  by  sits  a large 
condor  or  vulture  awaiting  his  turn  at  the  feast.  Animals  are  still 
trapped  by  the  asphalt  and  when  the  writer  visited  the  beds  (Plate 
XLVII,  a and  b)  there  was  a meadow  lark  caught  on  the  surface  of 
the  tar,  ready  to  begin  the  long  process  of  preservation,  to  be  recovered 
many  thousands  of  years  later.  The  encounters  between  the  carnivores 
at  the  edge  of  the  pool  were  ferocious.  A skull  of  a young  wolf  the  brain 
case  of  which  is  cut  entirety  through  by  the  tooth  of  a tiger,  the  saber 
being  broken  off  and  imbedded  in  the  preserved  skull,  is  on  e.xhibition 
at  the  University  of  California.  Other  animals  (Plate  LIII,  a)  possibly 
injured  here  escaped  and  later  becoming  entrapped  furnish  e\ddences 
of  pathological  growth.  The  skeletons  of  the  saber  toothed®  tigers 
were  afflicted  with  a very  severe  form  (Plate  XLIII,  d)  of  spondylitis 
deformans,  the  bones  were  broken  and  healed  and  all  evidences  attest  a 
very  active  life  for  these  predaceous  carnivores. 

Among  birds  the  shank  of  a crane  has  been  broken  and  in  healing 
had  become  deformed,  with  the  production  of  considerable  callus. 

Growths  of  diseased  bone  are  seen  not  infrequently  in  the  large  wolves,  where 
they  are  found  in  practically  all  parts  of  the  skeleton  and  maj'  suggest  a decadent 
condition  of  the  species  in  general.  The  most  remarkable  case  is  that  of  the  hind 
foot  of  a wolf,  in  which  the  four  bones  supporting  the  toes  have  grown  together  and 
their  upper  ends  are  covered  with  a voluminous  pathological  bone  growth.  Another 
interesting  case  cited  by  Mr.  Miller  is  that  of  an  eagle  in  which  the  middle  of  the 
shank  became  so  diseased  that  the  end  of  the  foot  was  lost  entirely.  Merriam. 

During  the  Pleistocene  there  lived  in  North  and  South  America 
a group  of  peculiar,  gigantic  ground  sloths,  known  as  megatheroids. 
They  are  supposed  to  have  used  their  enormous  fore  claws  for  excavat- 
ing trees  so  as  to  feed  upon  the  tender  foliage.  This  deduction  is  based 


* More  fully  described  in  Chapter  V. 


CALLUS  AND  FRACTURES 


129 


on  a study  made  by  Sir  Richard  Owen®  in  1842  on  the  skeleton  of  Mylo- 
don  rohistus,  from  the  Pleistocene  deposits  of  South  America.  Owen 
studied  the  fracture  very  carefully  and  concluded  that  it  was  produced 
by  the  falling  of  a large  tree  which  the  animal  had  uprooted  with  its 
gigantic  claws. 

The  fracture  was  extensive  and  affected  only  the  outer  table  of 
bone,  which  in  these  large  sloths  as  in  the  elephants  was  separated  from 
the  inner  table  by  large  diploic  air  spaces.  Carious  roughening  of  the 
adjacent  bony  surfaces  indicates  infection  and  the  formation  of  osteo- 
phytes points  to  a considerable  duration  of  the  healing  process.  The 
fractures  were  directly  over  the  brain  and  though  the  creature  was 
probably  stunned  and  temporarily  disabled  by  its  reception  it  was  able 
to  recover  itself,  for  the  wound  was  well  healed  over.  In  view  of 
Owen’s  deduction  from  this  fracture  these  huge  megatheroids  are 
always  mounted  in  museums  in  conjunction  with  trees. 

A beautiful  skull  of  an  extinct  musk  ox,  Synibos  cavijrons,^^  from  the 
Pleistocene  shows  on  the  left  side  of  the  face  an  enormous  injury 
(Plate  XXVI,  b)  leading  into  the  maxillary  sinus,  produced  possibly 
in  a fight  and  resulting  in  a chronic,  suppurating  sinusitis  due  to  infec- 
tion following  the  injury.  The  margin  of  the  bone  is  slightly  healed 
over  and  a moderate  number  of  osteophytes  were  formed. 

FRACTURES  IN  THE  AMERICAN  BISON 

Remains  of  the  American  bison  (Plates  XXIV,  LVI,  LVII)  found 
scattered  over  the  western  plains,  may  well  be  regarded  as  those  of  an 
extinct  race  and  for  that  reason  a short  discussion,  with  illustrations, 
of  the  species  is  given  in  this  work.  The  skeletal  remains  on  which  these 
observations  were  made  were  assembled  more  than  SO  years  ago  at  the 
University  of  Kansas  when  the  bison  still  existed  in  a wild  state.  The 
elements  studied  consist  of  a femur,  a radius  and  ulna,  a metacarpal, 
an  infected  knee  joint,  a thoracic  vertebra  and  a part  of  a humerus. 
Many  of  them  show  interesting  types  of  fracture  (Plate  XXIV),  but 

® Sir  Richard  Owen,  an  English  anatomist  and  paleontologist,  1804-1892.  An  eminent 
student  of  vertebrate  paleontology,  especially  noted  for  his  studies  on  the  reptilian  faunas  of 
the  Permian  and  Triassic  of  South  Africa,  for  his  discoveries  in  the  Cretaceous,  Pleistocene, 
and  other  geological  periods.  His  description  of  the  megatheroid  quadrupeds  is  one  of  the 
most  famous  in  the  annals  of  paleontology,  as  was  his  deduction  as  to  the  life  habits  of  the 
giant  sloths  from  a study  of  the  Pleistocene  fracture  above  described.  A voluminous  writer, 
Owen’s  contributions  occupy  a high  place  in  paleontological  literature. 

’“E.  C.  Case:  On  a nearly  complete  skull  of  Symbos  cavifrons  Leidy  from  Michigan. 
Occasional  Papers  of  the  Museum  of  Zoology,  University  of  Michigan,  Ann  Arbor,  No.  13, 
1915. 


130 


PALEOPATHOLOGY 


the  knee  injured  by  a leaden  bullet,  which  still  remains  as  a seques- 
trum, had  developed  a huge  osteomyehtis,  and  discussion  of  this 
specimen  is  given  in  Chapter  VII.  The  humerus  shows  arthritic  lesions; 
the  metacarpal  an  osteomyehtis,  the  thoracic  vertebra  had  been  in- 
jured and  the  femur  exhibits  an  interesting  pseudarthrosis  (Plate 
XXIV).  The  fracture  was  a complete  one  and  obhque,  severing  the 
bone  near  the  lower  articular  surface.  The  animal  was  forced  to  move 
around  in  order  to  avoid  being  devoured  by  wolves  or  shot  by  hunters 
and  the  enforced  activity  produced  a huge  callus  which  never  com- 
pletely ossified,  so  the  animal  died  before  the  wound  was  completely 
healed. 


CALLUS  AND  FRACTURES 


131 


DESCRIPTIONS  OF  FIGURES  8-10  AND  PLATES  XIV-XXVI,  ILLUSTRATING 

CHAPTER  IV 


132 


PALEOPATHOLOGY 


Figure  8 

Restoration  of  Edaphosaurus  cruciger  based  on  skeletal  material  discovered 
in  the  Permo-Carboniferous  Red  Beds  of  Archer  County,  Texas,  by  Dr.  E.  C. 
Case.  The  reptile  was  a highly  speciahzed  creature,  sluggish  in  movements,  and 
entirely  harmless,  living  perhaps  on  molluscs,  insects,  and  vegetation.  The  restora- 
tion is  introduced  here  since  it  is  probable  that  the  fractured  spine  showing  the  old 
callus  came  from  one  of  these  animals.  A fracture  of  the  spine,  it  may  be  seen,  was 
easily  produced.  The  animal  reached  a length  of  about  two  meters. 


Figure  8 


CALLUS  AND  FRACTURES 


133 


FIGURES  9-10 


134 


PALEOPATHOLOGY 


Figure  9 

A life  restoration  of  Triceratops  elatus  Marsh  from  the  Cretaceous  of  North 
America  as  modeled  in  the  United  States  National  Museum  by  Charles  W.  Gilmore, 
based  on  a mounted  skeleton.  One-fortieth  natural  size.  The  pathology’  of  this 
curious  reptile  is  given  in  the  accompanying  pages. 


Figure  10 

Model  of  M or  opus  elatus  as  preserved  in  the  Carnegie  Museum  at  Pittsburgh, 
representing  the  animal  at  one-thirtieth  natural  size.  Described  by  Holland  and 
Peterson,  Memoirs  Carnegie  Museum,  III,  plate  LXXVH. 


Figure  9 


Figure  10 


CALLUS  AND  FRACTURES 


135 


mM 


PLATE  XIV 


f ■ ■■  ,'  '■y  ^ 

"■-'  \ .'  >••  '■  '-V."  V 


L.vy.T  v..‘  y. 


r'f'- 
•'{'-  • ■' 


136 


PALEOPATHOLOGY 


PLATE  XIV 

THE  OLDEST  KNOWN  FRACTUEES 

a.  Skeleton  of  a long-spined  reptile  from  the  Permian  of  Texas,  Edaphosaurus’ 
as  mounted  by  Paul  C.  Miller  in  Walker  Museum,  University  of  Chicago.  The 
different  parts  of  the  skeleton  were  found  more  or  less  commingled  in  the  Brier 
Creek  bone-bed.  The  distal  part  of  the  tail  and  the  feet  are  restored  from  allied  ani- 
mats. The  skull  is  modeled  from  a perfect  specimen.  Under  the  direction  of  Dr. 
S.  W.  Wniiston.  A restoration  of  the  animal  is  shown  in  figure  8. 

b.  Photograph  of  the  radius  of  an  allied  animal,  Dimetrodon,  showing  an  exam- 
ple of  the  oldest  known  fracture.  This  bone  is  also  shown  in  Plate  XV,  c. 

c.  Normal  right  arm  of  Ophiacodon  minis,  a Permian  reptile  related  to  Dime- 
trodon, showing  form  of  normal  radius  and  relative  position  of  bone  in  fore-arm. 
The  fractured  radius  (shown  in  b)  was  found  isolated  so  we  do  not  know  whether 
the  ulna  was  injured  or  not.  Photograph  by  S.  W.  Williston  of  a specimen  mounted 
in  Walker  Museum,  University  of  Chicago. 

d.  Radiograph  of  bone  shown  in  b.  The  white  line  near  the  letter  d is  a post- 
fossilization  fracture. 


Plate  XIV 


CALLUS  AND  FRACTURES 


137 


PLATE  XV 


138 


PA  LEOPA  T HO  LOG  V 


PLATE  XV 

EXAMPLES  OE  PERMMN  PATHOLOGY 

a.  The  oldest  known  example  of  osteomyelitis.  Fractured  vertebral  spine  of  a 
Permian  reptile  (Dimetrodon?)  from  Texas  showing,  at  the  arrow,  the  line  of  frac- 
ture. The  fracture  became  infected,  for  the  bone  is  greatly  roughened  and  there 
developed  an  osteomyelitis  (see  Plate  XXI)  which  is  evident  in  the  swelling  above 
the  line  of  fracture.  The  sinuses,  in  life  filled  with  pus,  are  represented  in  the  fossil 
by  calcite-filled  cavities,  shown  in  Plate  XXI.  Collected  by  Paul  C.  MiUer. 

b.  Fractured  fibula  of  a long  spined  Permian  reptile,  {Edaphosaurus? , see 
Plate  XIV,  a)  showing  an  old  callus  (see  Plate  XVHI,  c,  and  d).  Collected  by  Dr. 
E.  C.  Case  from  the  Brier  Creek  bone-bed.  Archer  County,  Texas,  Wichita  Forma- 
tion, Permo-Carboniferous.  Original  in  the  University  of  Michigan. 

c.  Callus  and  fracture  of  the  left  radius  of  a long-spined  reptile,  Dimetrodon,  a 
primitive  tetrapod  from  the  Permian  of  Texas.  The  original  is  in  Walker  iMuseum, 
University  of  Chicago.  (See  plate  XIV,  b and  d.)  Specimen  loaned  by  Dr.  S.  W. 
Williston. 

d.  Portion  of  fractured  spine  (rib?)  of  a Permian  reptile  Edaphosaurus?, 
showing  the  callus.  The  specimen  is  three  inches  long,  and  was  collected  in  the 
Permian  of  Texas  by  Mr.  Paul  hliller  of  the  University  of  Chicago. 

e.  Fracture  in  an  undetermined  fragment  of  spine. 


Plate  XV 


A- 


CALLUS  AND  FRACTURES 


Wvf''  -y 


PLATE  XVI 


140 


PALEOPA THOLOGY 


PLATE  XVI 

Microscopic  section  of  callus  and  fracture  on  spine  (rib?)  showing,  below,  the 
osteosclerotic  area,  in  the  middle,  the  white  spicule  of  bone  running  from  right 
to  left,  and  above,  the  area  of  osteohypertrophy.  X 300. 


Plate  XVI 


CALLUS  AND  FRACTURES 


141 


PLATE  XVII 


142 


PALEOPATHOLOGY 


PLATE  xvn 

Photomicrographs  of  histology  of  Paleozoic  fractures  compared  with  normal 
human  bone. 

a.  Histology  of  human  femur  showing  Haversian  systems.  X 70. 

b.  Histology  of  fractured  spine  of  a Permian  reptile  of  Texas,  showing  concen- 
tric arrangement  of  osseous  lamellae  around  large  vascular  spaces.  X 200.  The 
tendency  to  form  pseudo-Haversian  systems  in  ancient  pathologic  bone  is  here 
clearly  exemplified.  Normal  fossil  bone  seldom  presents  this  appearance. 

c.  Portion  of  a fractured  spine  of  a Permian  reptile  showing  histologj’-  of  bone 
near  a callus.  X 70. 

d.  An  enlarged  view  of  one  of  the  pseudo-Haversian  arrangements  around  a 
vascular  channel  in  the  same  section.  X 300. 


Plate  XVII 


CALLUS  AND  FRACTURES 


f 


PLATE  XVIII 


,;-■■■■.  ■ '■  ■ 


y'^-. 


144 


PALEOPATHOLOGY 


I 


PLATE  XVIII 

Photomicrographs  showing  histology  of  ancient  fractures  and  infections,  com- 
pared with  recent  bone. 

a.  Osteomyelitis  in  the  metacarpal  of  the  Bison  from  the  plains  of  Kansas. 
X 70. 

b.  Osteomyelitis  in  the  ulna  of  the  American  Bison  from  the  plains  of  Kansas. 
X 100.  Junction  of  pathological  lesion  with  normal  bone.  Haversian  canals  in 
pathologic  bone. 

c.  Callus  in  fractured  fibula  of  Edaphosaurus,  Permian  of  Texas.  Original  in 
the  University  of  Michigan.  X 70.  See  figure  b,  Plate  XV. 

d.  Callus  of  fibula  of  Edaphosaurus,  a spiny  reptile  from  the  Permian  of  Te.xas, 
showing  arrangement  of  trabeculae  of  bone  and  distribution  of  vascular  spaces. 
X 100. 


& 


Plate  XVIII 


CALLUS  AND  FRACTURES 


145 


PLATE  XIX 


\ 


ft 


146 


PALEOPATHOLOGY 


PLATE  XIX 

Photomicrographs  of  histology  of  normal  and  pathologic  bone,  human  and 
American  Bison. 

a.  Human  femur,  normal.  X 300. 

b.  Callus  in  femur  of  bison  from  the  plains  of  Kansas,  showing  Haversian  sys- 
tems. X 70. 

c.  Arthritis  deformans  in  the  humerus  of  the  American  Bison  from  the  plains 
of  Kansas.  X 100. 

d.  Osteomyelitis  due  to  bullet  wound  in  the  knee  of  an  American  bison.  X 100. 
The  increased  vascularity  shown  in  c and  d is  to  be  noted. 


■ I 


Plate  XXI 


CALLUS  AND  FRACTURES 


PLATE  XX 


148 


PALEOPA THOLOGY 


PLATE  XX 

The  skeleton  of  an  early  Tertiary  mammal,  Titanotherium  robusium,  from  the 
White  River  Oligocene  of  South  Dakota,  as  it  is  mounted  in  the  American  Museum 
of  Natural  History.  The  fifth  rib  on  the  right  side  has  been  fractured  and  has  healed 
with  the  formation  of  considerable  callus  and  a pseudarthrosis.  The  details  of 
the  callus  are  shown  in  the  enlarged  sketch  in  the  lower  right  hand  corner,  one- 
twelfth  natural  size.  Courtesy  of  Dr.  W.  K.  Gregor}’. 


Plate  XX 


CALLUS  AND  FRACTURES 


149 


PLATE  XXI 


150 


PALEOPATHOLOGY 


PLATE  XXI 

A PERMIAN  OSTEOMYELITIS 

a.  A cross  section  through  the  spine  shown  in  Plate  X\',  a,  immediately  above 
the  point  of  the  arrow,  showing  the  highly  developed  sinuses  which  in  life  were  filled 
with  pus.  There  is  no  indication  of  the  sequestrum  which  doubtless  caused  the 
infection.  It  was  perhaps  located  at  a different  level.  X 10. 

b.  Section  through  the  same  spine  at  a lower  level.  X 10. 


Plate  XIX 


II 


CALLUS  AND  FRACTURES 


151 


PLATE  XXII 


152 


PALEOPATHOLOGY 


PLATE  xxn 
FRACTUILES  IN  MOROPUS 

a.  and  b.  Radius  and  ulna  of  Moroptis,  a large  chalicothere,  from  the  Agate 
Spring  Quarry,  Sioux  County,  Nebraska.  Miocene,  about  1,500,000  }'ears  ago. 
These  bones,  the  normal  forms  of  which  are  shown  in  the  small  inserts,  were  frac- 
tured during  life  and  have  healed  with  callus  formation,  and  partial  fusion  of  the 
bones,  as  well  as  some  necrosis  which  indicates  that  the  injury  became  infected. 
Exostosial  growths  are  evident  near  the  olecranal  fossa. 

c.  Rib  of  same  animal,  fractured  in  two  places  and  healed  with  only  a slight 
deformation. 

d.  Scapula  of  same  animal  from  above,  fractured  during  life.  Moropus  was 
a large  mammal,  with  somewhat  the  appearance  of  a horse,  though  the  forelegs 
were  longer  than  the  hind  legs,  and  all  feet  were  provided  with  claws.  The  Chalico- 
theroidea  are  characteristic  of  the  Oligocene  and  Lower  Miocene.  They  have  been 
extinct  since  Miocene  times.  Restoration  of  the  animal  is  shown  in  Figure  10. 


Plate  XXII 


CALLUS  AND  FRACTURES 


153 


PLATE  XXIII 


154 


PALEOPATHOLOGY 


PLATE  XXin 

TRAXJMATIC  LESIONS  IN  DINOSAURS  AND  IN  A MAMMAL 

a.  Left  scapula  and  coracoid  of  a carnivorous  dinosaur,  Antrodemus  valens 
Leidy.  The  upper  end  of  the  scapula  had  been  fractured  during  life,  as  evidenced 
by  the  bifurcated  and  greatly  widened  upper  end,  as  well  as  by  the  hypertrophy 
exhibited  in  the  shaft  which  in  the  normal  bone  is  more  slender,  the  blade  being 
uniform  from  the  coracoid  upwards.  Comanchean  of  Garden  Park,  near  Canon 
City,  Colorado.  Collected  by  M.  P.  Felch,  in  1883.  (After  Gilmore.) 

b.  The  left  tibia  and  fibula  of  Aehnrocyon,  a primitive  carnivore  from  the 
Miocene  of  Wyoming,  showing  an  oblique  fracture  involving  both  bones.  Speci- 
men preserved  in  the  Field  Museum  of  Chicago. 

c.  Caudal  vertebrae  of  an  English  dinosaur,  Cetiosaurus  leedsi,  showing  arthri- 
tic lesions,  similar  to  those  described  for  Apatosaiinis  and  Diplodocus.  Specimens 
preserved  in  the  British  Museum.  Drawn  from  a photograph  published  by  Hol- 
land. 

d.  A fractured  rib  of  one  of  the  huge  dinosaurs.  Apatosaurus,  shown  in  a 
mounted  skeleton  in  the  Field  Museum  of  Chicago. 


Plate  XXIII 


CALLUS  AND  FRACTURES 


155 


0.'- 


'i ' . 


PLATE  XXIV 


156 


PALEOPATHOLOGY 


PLATE  XXIV 

FRACTURE  IN  THE  AMERICAN  BISON 

Fracture  of  the  femur  immediately  above  the  condyles  in  the  American  Bison, 
from  the  plains  of  Kansas.  Original  in  the  University  of  Kansas.  The  huge  amount 
of  callus  shown  in  the  left-hand  figure  is  due  to  the  oblique  fracture  which  became 
misplaced  and  formed  a pseudarthrosis  with  one  of  the  condyles  of  the  femur,  as 
shown  in  the  right-hand  figure.  There  was  no  infection. 


Plate  XXIV 


CALLUS  AND  FRACTURES 


157 


PLATE  XXV 


158 


PALEOPATHOLOGY 


PLATE  XXV 

PRACTURE  IN  THE  AMERICAN  MASTODON 

a.  Skull  of  a large  Mastodon,  showing  in  the  posterior  part  of  the  head  a skul. 
fracture  which  had  not  healed.  In  the  temporal  fossa  is  a necrotic  sinus.  Original 
in  Yale  University  Museum. 

h.  Fractured  ribs  of  a Mastodon  skeleton  mounted  at  the  University  of  Wis- 
consin. 


Sinus  ^ 

\ 


' FracTure 


Plate  XXV 


CALLUS  AND  FRACTURES 


159 


PLATE  XXVI 


160 


PALEOPATHOLOGY 


PLATE  XXVI 

FRACTURE  AND  NECROSIS  IN  ANCIENT  REPTILES  AND  THE  MUSKOX 

a.  Fracture,  at  2^^,  of  the  lower  jaw  of  one  of  the  large  three  horned  dino- 
saurs, Triceratops,  from  the  Lance  Formation  of  Niobrara  County,  Wyoming. 
Specimen  in  the  Yale  University  Museum. 

h.  Skull  of  a Musk-ox,  Symbos  cavifrons,  possibly  80,000  years  old,  from  the 
Pleistocene  of  Michigan,  showing  (at  the  arrowi.  a lesion  possibly  indicating  a 
chronic  suppurating  sinusitis.  The  skull  is  preserved  in  the  University  of  Michigan. 

c.  The  skull  of  Mystriosuchus  Plieningeri  H.  von  Meyer,  a parasuchian,  from 
the  Triassic  of  Aixheim,  exhibiting  a broken  snout,  with  resulting  callus  and  bone 
necrosis.  This  is  the  oldest  known  skull  fracture.  (After  von  Huene.) 


Plate  XXVI 


CHAPTER  V 

DEFORMING  ARTHRITIDES  IN  THE  EARLY  VERTEBRATES 

Arthritic  lesions  in  the  dinosaurs.  Spondylitis  deformans  in  the  dinosaurs.  The  fossiliza- 
tion  of  blood  corpuscles.  Arthritides  in  the  mosasaurs.  Osteomata  among  modem  verte- 
brates. Multiple  arthritis  in  a mosasaur.  Cretaceous  osteoperiostitis  with  arthritic  lesions. 
History  of  spondylitis  deformans.  Spondylitis  deformans  in  a Miocene  crocodile.  Spondy- 
litis deformans  in  a Pliocene  camel.  Descriptions  of  Figures  1 1-18  and  Plates  XXVII-XLIII 
Illustrating  Chapter  V.  Figures  11-18  and  Plates  XXVII-XLIII. 

Deforming  arthritides  are  fairly  common  among  fossil  vertebrates 
and  indicate  a variety  of  pathological  conditions.  These  lesions  repre- 
sent diseased  or  traumatic  afflictions  of  the  intervertebral  articular 
surfaces,  the  entire  body  of  the  vertebra,  the  vertebral  ligaments,  as 
in  the  cases  of  spondylitis  deformans  described  among  the  Pleistocene 
mammals,  the  articular  surfaces  of  the  limbs  and  skull  and  all  lesions 
associated  with  the  joint  surfaces. 

The  grouping  is  one  of  convenience  and  doubtless  many  of  the 
lesions  classified  in  this  group  should  be  placed  elsewhere,  but  in  view 
of  the  uncertainty  of  diagnosis  the  above  plan  will  be  adopted.  Certain 
arthritic  lesions  are  described  elsewhere  in  the  book  and  reference  may 
be  had  to  them  through  the  index. 

Arthritides  are  especially  common  among  the  Pleistocene  mammals, 
though  the  history  of  the  aflfliction  is  a long  one.  The  arthritic  condi- 
tion sometimes  spoken  of  as  rheumatoid  arthritides,  noted  by  Virchow 
in  the  cave  bears  (1895),  is  also  known  to  occur  in  a sub-fossil  human 
skeleton  (Parker,  1904)  from  Lansing,  Kansas.  An  arthritis  is  certainly 
present  in  a Cretaceous  mosasaur,  where  a well-developed  osteoma 
accompanied  the  arthritic  inflammation.  Spondyhtis  deformans  is 
extremely  common  among  the  cave-bears  of  Europe  and  the  saber 
toothed  tigers  (Moodie,  1918.3)  of  California.  These  forms  will  be 
described  as  indicating  this  pathology  on  a later  page. 

ARTHRITIC  LESIONS  IN  THE  DINOSAURS 

Our  knowledge  of  the  anatomy  and  relationships  of  the  dinosaurs 
is  largely  due  to  the  studies  of  Marsh^  who  was  a pioneer  in  the  field 
and  accompHshed  much  of  lasting  value. 

‘ Othniel  Charles  Marsh,  American  paleontologist,  1831-1899.  Professor  of  Paleontology 
in  Yale  University,  1866-1899.  Among  his  important  discoveries  in  American  paleontology 
are  his  recognition  of  ancient  birds  with  teeth,  the  elucidation  of  the  anatomy  and  relation- 


161 


162 


PALEOPATHOLOGY 


There  are  extensive  collections  of  dinosaurian  remains  in  the 
United  States  National  Museum  at  Washington,  in  the  Yale  Univer- 
sity Museum  at  New  Haven,  and  in  the  American  Museum  of  Natural 
History  at  New  York  City,  this  last  institution  containing  the  most 
extensive  collections  of  fossil  vertebrates  brought  together  in  America. 

One  of  the  oldest,  and  certainly  the  most  interesting,  case  of  a 
deform.ed  joint  is  the  lesion  shown  in  Plates  XXIX,  b;  XXX;  XXXI; 
XXXII  and  XXXIII.  The  tumor  mass  involves  two  caudal  vertebrae 
of  a huge  Mesozoic  (Comanchean)  land  reptile,  one  of  the  sauropodous 
dinosaurs  (Plate  XXVIII),  possibly  Apatosaurus,  from  the  Como 
Beds  of  Wyoming.  The  position  of  these  bones  in  the  body  of  the 
animal  is  indicated  by  the  arrow  in  the  outline  reconstruction  (Fig. 
d,  Plate  XXIX). 

The  sauropodous  dinosaurs  were  the  most  gigantic  of  all  land  verte- 
brates, though  they  were  surpassed  in  size  by  some  of  the  modern  sperm 
whales.  The  largest  of  these  reptiles  attained  a length  of  nearly  seventy 
feet  and  an  estimated  weight  of  39  tons.  The  head  was  approximately 
the  size  of  that  of  a modern  draft  horse,  and  the  contained  brain  no 
larger  than  one’s  fist.  The  lumbar  intumesence,  however,  was  ten 
times  the  size  (Figure  13)  of  the  cephalic  portion  of  the  cerebro- 
spinal system,  or  at  least  the  sub-dural  space  indicates  this  to  be  true. 
Whether  the  nervous  material  filled  the  entire  space  is  not  known. 
The  animals  lived,  probably,  in  the  swamps  and  low-ljdng  rivers, 
feeding  on  the  succulent  vegetation.  They  are  said  to  have  been  cap- 
able of  attaining  the  ripe  old  age  of  one  thousand  years. 

Diseases  are  rarely  seen  on  fossil  dinosaur  bones,  in  spite  of  the 
abundance  of  their  remains.  The  tail,  in  some  of  the  large  animals, 
was  long  and  slender  and  trailed  on  the  ground  (Plate  XXIII,  c)  for  a 
distance  of  twenty-five  feet  or  more.  It  may  have  been  used  also  in 
swimming,  as  the  musk  rat  uses  its  tail  today.  The  terminal  caudals, 
in  Diplodocus  especially,  w’^ere  reduced  to  slender  rods  of  bone,  so  that 
a fracture  or  other  injury  was  easily  possible  in  this  region.  Aside 
from  possible  blows  with  the  head,  the  dinosaurs  to  wMch  these  lesions 
belonged  were  entirely  defenseless.  The  tail,  for  example,  might  have 
been  seized  by  one  of  the  carnivorous  dinosaurs,  and  vigorously 

ship  of  the  dinosaurs  and  his  studies  on  ancient  mammals,  especially  the  ancestry'  of  the 
horse.  He  contributed  250  studies  to  vertebrate  paleontology,  1862-1899.  Some  of  the 
larger,  more  important  and  elaborately  illustrated  works  are:  OdotUornithes:  A Monograph 
of  the  extinct  toothed  birds  of  North  America,  Washington,  1880,  in  4°;  Dinoccrata:  A Monograph 
of  an  extinct  Order  of  Gigantic  Mammals,  Washington,  1896,  in  4°;  The  Dinosaurs  of  North 
America,  W ashington,  1896,  in  4°. 


DEFORMING  ARTHRITIDES 


163 


chewed  for  some  time  before  the  owner  of  the  tail  had  time  to  turn  its 
huge  body  and  knock  the  offender  away.  In  this  way  we  may  account 
for  the  numerous  lesions  known  to  occur  in  the  tail  of  these  animals. 

The  present  lesion  (Plate  XXIX,  b)  has  all  the  characters  of  an 
hemangioma  and  a detailed  description  of  it  is  given  herewith.  The 
specimen  is  the  property  of  the  Kansas  University  Museum  and  I am 
indebted  to  Mr.  H.  T.  Martin,  the  curator  of  paleontology,  for  the 
interesting  privilege  of  studying  this  fine  tumor.  A preliminary  de- 
scription of  the  tumor  has  already  appeared,  (Moodie,  1916.3)  and  all 
the  data  are  collected  here  in  one  place. 

The  mass  resembles  closely  the  tumor-like  masses  seen  on  oak 
trees.  It  entirely  encircles  the  vertebrae  and  has  involved  fully  half 
of  each  of  the  two  bones.  The  dark  line  running  vertically  in  the 
middle  of  the  specimen  indicates  the  point  where  the  normal  union  of 
the  two  vertebrae  would  occur,  but  all  evidences  of  separate  structures 
have  been  obliterated,  and  the  bones  are  fused  into  a single  mass. 

The  specimen  has  a weight  of  5.1  kg.,  and  a length  of  26.5  cm. 
The  circumference  of  the  normal  articular  surface  of  one  of  the  verte- 
brae measures  27  cm.,  and  the  same  measurement  around  the  middle 
of  the  mass  is  38.5  cm.  The  lesion  has  involved  a length  of  12  cm. 
Its  surface  is  generally  rather  deeply  pitted  and  there  is  an  unusual 
ventral  growth  carrying  with  it  the  ‘chevron’  (indicated  by  a star,  Plate 
XXIX,  b)  a ventral  bony  element  commonly  present  in  these  reptiles 
for  the  protection  of  the  caudal  artery  and  vein.  The  growth  of  the 
diseased  portion  is  unequal  and  has  involved  more  of  the  vertebrae  on 
one  side  than  on  the  other;  hkewise,  the  growth  has  attained  greater 
lateral  dimensions  on  one  side. 

The  lesion  is  suggestive  of  chronic  osteomyelitis.  It  may  be  a 
callous  growth,  due  possibly  to  an  intervertebral  fracture  of  the  tail; 
or  it  may  be  a bone  tumor,  and  the  presence  of  numerous  vascular 
spaces  and  channels  indicates  an  hemangioma. 

Sawn  sections  through  the  middle  of  the  tumor  (Plate  XXX)  show 
the  presence  of  numerous  vascular  spaces,  which  are  especially  large 
and  numerous  near  the  ventral  extremity  of  the  bone.  The  largest 
space,  to  the  left  in  the  figure,  (Plate  XXX)  may  be  a portion  of  the 
old  intervertebral  space  which  has  become  incorporated  in  the  patho- 
logical mass.  The  growth  of  the  trabeculae  has  been  unequal  and 
irregular  and  indicates  the  pathological  nature  of  the  mass. 

Microscopic  study  of  the  periphery  (Plate  XXXII)  shows  the 
presence  of  numerous  well-developed  Haversian  systems  of  osseous 


164 


PALEOPATHOLOGY 


lamellae,  usually  around  a vascular  space.  The  section,  (Plate  XXXI) 
magnified  300  diameters,  is  nicely  stained  by  the  infiltration  of  iron 
and  the  osseous  lacunae  and  their  short  canahculi  stand  out  with  sur- 
prising sharpness.  On  one  side  of  the  figure  are  a number  of  post- 
fossilization  fractures,  due  possibly  to  the  action  of  the  frost,  or  the 
growth  of  the  contained  crystals,  and  have  no  significance  in  the  inter- 
pretation of  the  section. 

An  examination  of  a thin  section  taken  from  the  center  of  the  mass 
shows  little  structural  distinction  from  that  seen  in  the  periphery. 
The  same  highly  vascular  nature  of  the  tissue  still  obtains,  indicating 
that  the  entire  tumor-mass  was  well  filled  with  blood.  The  trabeculae 
and  lamellae  are  approximately  the  same  in  nature  and  the  lacunae  are 
not  numerous. 

Lesions  of  a similar  nature  and  doubtless  due  to  a similar  cause 
are  known  to  occur  (Plate  XXIII,  c)  in  the  tails  of  Diplodocus  and 
Cetiosaurus  leedsi,  an  English  dinosaur.  Since  these  two  lesions  repre- 
sent different  stages  of  growth  than  the  one  described  above,  the  three 
lesions  give  an  interesting  picture  of  the  stages  of  growth  of  an  Heman- 
gioma eighteen  or  more  million  years  ago. 

Holland’s  discussion  of  these  lesions  and  a reproduction  of  the 
figures  by  him  (Plate  XXIII,  c)  and  by  Hatcher  (Plate  X,  a)  will  give 
an  adequate  conception  of  the  nature  of  this  pathology. 

That  the  enormously,  and  at  its  extremity  highly  attenuated  tail  of  these 
great  reptiles  was  liable  to  injury,  is  shown  by  the  caudal  vertebrae  of  the  Carnegie 
Museum  (at  Pittsburg)  as  well  as  the  caudal  vertebrae  of  Cetiosaurus  leedsi,  pre- 
served in  the  British  Museum.  In  specimen  No.  84  (Carnegie  Museum)  caudals 
2 and  3 are  co-ossified  as  has  already  been  pointed  out  by  Mr.  Hatcher  in  his  memoir, 
and  this  co-ossification  appears  to  be  pathological  rather  than  normal.  In  specimen 
No.  94  caudals  20  and  21  are  firmly  co-ossified,  as  are  also  caudals  No.  24  and  25. 
The  co-ossification  in  the  case  of  both  of  these  instances  is  evident^  due  to  traumatic 
causes.  An  examination  of  the  photograph  of  the  rod-like  caudals  of  Cetiosaurus 
leedsi  shows  plainly  that  several  of  these  bones  have  sustained  injury,  as  might 
easily  happen  by  being  crushed  under  the  feet  of  other  individuals,  or  when  used 
possibly  for  purposes  of  defense  in  giving  blows  to  the  right  and  to  the  left. 

No  microscopic  examination  of  any  of  these  lesions  has  been 
attempted  since  there  is  no  reason  to  think  that  they  differ  histologi- 
cally from  the  large  tumor  described  above. 

S'PONDYLITIS  DEFORMANS  IN  THE  DINOSAURS 

Coalesced  vertebrae  have  been  frequently  seen,  described  and 
figured,  in  the  skeletons  of  the  huge  land  reptiles  of  the  hlesozoic,  and 
Osborn  especially  has  referred  to  these  pathological  lesions  as  being 


DEFORMING  ARTHRITIDES 


165 


the  resting-point  of  the  tail.  This  means,  I assume,  that  these  gigantic 
reptiles  stood  erect  and  supported  themselves  with  the  tail,  like  the 
kangaroos.  The  difficulty  with  this  interpretation  is  that  the  coalesced 
vertebrae  often  occur  elsewhere  in  the  skeleton  than  at  the  proper 
point  of  the  tail.  Coalesced  cervicals  are  known  in  Camarasaurus, 
Diplodocus,  and  Tyrannosaurus,  and  doubtless  close  scrutiny  would 
reveal  the  lesions  elsewhere  in  the  body. 

This  condition  was  extremely  puzzling  until  a series  of  five  caudals 
(Fig.  15)  of  Diplodocus  were  studied  in  the  American  Museum  of 
Natural  History.  A fortunate  post-fossilization  fracture  revealed  the 
unaffected  articular  surfaces  of  the  vertebrae  in  two  places  and  showed 
the  ring-like  growth  of  the  lesion,  similar  in  all  respects  to  the  modem 
advanced  cases  of  Spondylitis  deformans,  so  commonly  seen  in  man 
and  mammals.  Ruffer  has  reported  a case  of  this  form  of  pathology 
in  a Miocene  crocodile  of  Egypt,  so  that  the  disease  is  known  to  occur 
in  other  reptiles.  The  antiquity  of  the  lesion  is  greatly  extended  by 
this  occurrence.  It  is  probable  that  further  study  will  carry  the  antiq- 
uity of  this  interesting  form  of  pathology  far  back  into  geological 
time. 

A badly  infected  lesion,  showing  on  the  surface  several  large 
necrotic  sinuses,  indicates  an  injury  (Plate  XXIX,  a)  to  the  tail  of  a 
large  dinosaur.  Apatosaurus  louisae,  in  the  Carnegie  Museum.  It 
may  be  an  example  of  spondylitis  deformans,  though  other  lesions  of 
this  nature  seen  in  the  tails  of  dinosaurs  do  not  possess  necrotic  sinuses. 
It  may  be  an  osteomyelitis  (Plate  XXIX)  or  an  incipient  hemangioma. 
A Diplodocus  skeleton  in  the  same  museum  exhibits  two  lesions  on  the 
tail,  around  which  have  developed  a pathology  similar  to  spondylitis 
deformans.  The  injuries  in  both  dinosaurs  are  near  the  point  where 
the  tail  reaches  the  ground,  and  it  may  well  be  that  trauma  is  the 
cause  of  them  all. 

THE  FOSSILIZATION  OF  BLOOD  CORPUSCLES 

The  study  of  the  pathologic  lesions  of  dinosaur  bones  has  resulted 
in  a number  of  interesting  observations  which  are  on  the  borderline 
of  pathology  and  because  of  their  interest  those  observations^  wall  be 
recorded  here.  They  are  concerned  with  a fundamental  question  and 
the  phenomenon  are  so  closely  allied  to  pathology  as  to  warrant  their 
incorporation. 

*Roy  L.  Moodie,  1920.  Concerning  the  fossilization  of  blood  corpuscles.  Amer. 
Naturalist,  liv,  460-464,  1 fig. 


166 


PALEOPATHOLOGY 


Recently,  while  studying  a series  of  microscopic  preparations  of 
fossil  material  in  connection  with  paleopathology,  I observed  in  sections 
of  a dinosaur  bone  (possibly  Apatosaurus)  which  I had  collected  in 
the  Como  beds  of  Wyoming  in  1906,  some  ovoid  bodies,  arranged 
around  the  periphery  of  vascular  spaces  and  Haversian  canals,  which 
looked  remarkably  hke  blood  corpuscles.  Close  scrutiny  of  the  avail- 
able material,  however,  did  not  satisfy  me  that  the  objects  might  not 
be  the  products  or  by-products  of  incomplete  crystalhzation.  The 
majority  of  the  bodies  have  the  size  and  shape  of  modern  reptilian 
erythrocytes;  the  nucleus  of  course  not  being  evident,  since  only  the 
outward  form  of  the  corpuscle  was  to  be  seen.  Other  bodies,  apparently 
similar  in  nature,  were  irregular  in  shape  and  hard  to  distinguish  struc- 
turally from  the  more  regularly  formed  bodies.  The  latter,  however, 
may  be  masses  composed  of  several  corpuscles  which  had  become  agglu- 
tinated. 

Not  being  satisfied  with  the  results  of  my  observations,  I should 
not  have  published  anything  in  regard  to  these  strange  bodies  had  I 
not  seen  in  a memoir  by  Seitz^  a description  of  similar  bodies  in  sections 
of  normal  bone  from  a European  dinosaur,  Iguanodon  Bernissaertensis, 
from  the  Wealden  of  Bernissaert,-  Belgium.  Seitz’s  description  of  the 
blood  corpuscles  follows: 

A larger  part  of  the  Haversian  canals  of  Iguanodon  is  empty.  A part  of  them, 
however,  contain  small,  round,  biconve.v  bodies,  apparently  with  flat  surfaces, 
which  occur  regularly  or  scattered  about  in  the  lumen  of  the  vessels,  with  an  occa- 
sional one  near  the  periphery.  Not  seldom  a compact  mass  of  them  entirely  fills 
the  blood-vessel.  Professor  Solereder  of  Erlangen  declares  that  the  bodies  are  not 
of  plant  origin  (spores)  and  by  polarization  it  is  determined  that  the  bodies  resemble 
somewhat  crystalline  concretions,  so  that  we  are  forced  to  the  conclusion  that  we 
have  here  some  fossilized  blood  corpuscles.  The  partial  filling  of  the  blood  vessel 
may  be  due  to  coagulation  or  a peripheral  thrombus.  There  is  also  to  be  found  fre- 
quent accumulations  of  reddish  crystals  which  resemble  hematoid  crj'stals,  and 
which  support  the  suggestion  as  to  the  nature  of  the  material.  I give  these  obser- 
vations with  some  reservation. 

We  may  gain  an  insight  into  the  possibhty  of  the  fossihzation  of 
blood  corpuscles  by  stud}dng  the  results  of  the  researches  into  the 
nature  of  the  mummified  brain  material  of  the  ancient  EgA-ptians.  This 
subject  has  been  studied  by  Mair,^  who  finds  that  the  hpoids  of  the 
brain  from  Coptic  bodies,  500  b.  c.,  had  been  changed  into  cholesteryl 

’ The  lengthy  title  of  this  fine  memoir  is  given  in  footnote  2 of  Chapter  IV. 

■*  W.  Mair,  1913.  On  the  lipoids  of  ancient  Egj'ptian  brains.  J.  Path,  and  Bacteriol., 
xviii,  179-184;  188. 


DEFORMING  ARTHRITIDES 


167 


stearate  and  palmitate.®  Mair  obtained  cholesteryl  stearate  by  heating 
cholesterol  with  stearic  acid,  and  one  may  infer  that  the  heat  of  the 
■ desert  sands  in  which  the  bodies  were  buried  may  have  been  an  impor- 
tant factor  in  the  conversion  of  brain  lipoids  into  the  two  relatively 
resistant  substances,  palmitate  and  cholesteryl  stearate.  These  brains, 
even  those  dating  from  a period  prior  to  the  process  of  embalming 
(4500  B.  c.),  are  frequently  so  well  preserved  though  greatly  shrunken, 
that  practically  all  the  gyri  may  be  accurately  determined.  This  item 
from  more  recent  times  may  aid  in  an  explanation  of  processes  occurring 
in  geological  ages. 

The  studies  on  Egyptian  mummies  have  not  resulted  in  the  dis- 
covery of  blood  corpuscles,  even  Ruffer’s  extensive  histological  observa- 
tions on  mummified  tissues  did  not  yield  any  positive  results.  Schmidt® 
examined  bodies  dating'  from  1000  years  before  Menes  (3400  b.  c.) 
to  500  B.  c.  (mummified  material  from  Coptic  bodies)  and  was  unable 
to  find  a positive  haemin  reaction,  tending  to  show  the  complete  dis- 
appearance of  all  blood  in  the  process  of  time.  Wood  Jones, ^ however, 
is  convinced  that  traces  of  blood  are  readily  discernible.  Elliot  Smith 
has  referred  to  blood  stains  on  bandages  used  in  the  primitive  surgery 
of  Egypt. 

It  may  be  of  interest  to  note  that  Eriedenthal®  announced  to  the 
physiological  society  of  Berlin  the  discovery  of  red  blood  in  the  body  of 
a mammoth  from  eastern  Siberia  which  had  been  frozen  in  the  tundra 
since  Pleistocene  times.  The  precipitin  reaction  of  the  blood  is  similar 
to  that  of  the  modern  elephant.  No  record  is  made  of  the  preservation 
of  blood  corpuscles.  While  this  is  an  extremely  interesting  discovery, 
it  must  be  recalled  that  cold  brings  many  chemical  reactions  to  a halt, 
and  there  may  have  been  httle  change  in  the  blood  of  this  mammoth 
during  its  175,000  years  of  cold  storage  in  the  Siberian  mud.  The 
body  had  been  so  well  frozen  that  the  flesh  was  eaten  by  wolves  and 
dogs. 

Hoppe-Seyler  has  shown  that  dried  red  blood  corpuscles  of  man 
' contain  2.5  parts  of  cholesterin  in  1000.  While  this  is  an  extremely 

® Mail’s  results  are  confirmed  and  extended  by  Lapworth  and  Royle,  1914,  The  lipoids  of 
ancient  Egyptian  brains  and  the  nature  of  cholesteryl  esters.  J.  Path  and  Bacteriol.,  xix, 
474-477. 

®W.  A.  Schmidt,  1907.  Chemische  und  biologische  Untersuchungen  von  agyptischen 
Mumienmaterial,nebst  Betrachtungen  fiber  das  Einbalsamierungsverfahren  der  alten  Aegyp- 
ter.  Ztschr.  f.  allgemein.  Physiol.,  vii,  369-392. 

’’  F.  Wood  Jones,  1908.  The  post-mortem  staining  of  bone  produced  by  the  ante-mortem 
shedding  of  blood.  Brit.  Med.  J.,  i,  734-736. 

® Deutsche  Med.  Wochenschrift,  1904,  p.  901. 


168 


PALEOPATHOLOGY 


small  amount  of  lipoid  substance,  since  it  is  chiefly  in  the  cortex  of  the 
corpuscle,  it  occurred  to  me  that  this  might  offer  an  explanation  of  the 
preservation  of  blood  corpuscles.  That  is,  under  favorable  conditions, 
the  lipoids  of  the  blood  might  be  changed  into  some  resistant  substance 
like  palmitate  or  cholesteryl  stearate  and  thus  retain  the  form  of  the 
orpuscle  arid  delay  their  destruction  long  enough  for  fossilization  to 
et  in;  these  substances  being  replaced  later  by  the  mineral  crystals 
^rom  the  magma  in  which  the  body  was  immersed.  The  beautiful 
ittle  ganoid  fish  brains  described^  some  years  ago  from  the  Coal 
^Measures  may  have  been  preserved  in  a similar  way,  though  micro- 
scopic study^°  of  the  brain  does  not  help  us  to  reach  a definite  conclusion 
one  way  or  the  other.  The  resemblance  between  brain  substance  and 
blood  corpuscles  is  close  in  this  respect  that  each  has  a small  amount  of 
resistance  substance,  a large  amount  of  water  and  a relatively  similar 
proportion  of  lipoids  which  may  have  been  transformed,  under  proper 
conditions,  into  resistant  substances  which  carried  the  part  over  the 
critical  period  of  destruction. 

In  view  of  the  fact  that  so  many  soft-bodied  animals  are  so  beau- 
tifully preserved^  in  the  rocks,  that  the  histological  nature  of  Paleo- 
zoic muscle  tissue  has  been  determined,  that  bacteria  and  the  delicate 
parts  of  animals  are  so  frequently  fossilized,  it  is  certainly  not  beyond 
reason  to  expect  the  preservation  of  blood  corpuscles.  The  subject 
is  still  an  open  one  but  this  contribution  to  the  theory  of  fossilization, 
it  is  hoped,  may  help  to  clear  up  the  matter  of  the  preservation  of  deli- 
cate parts. 

The  fossilization  of  any  of  the  blood  crystals,  as  suggested  by  Seitz, 
is  extremely  improbable,  since  the  evanescent  nature  of  blood  crystals 
is  well  known.  Whether  the  crystals  seen  with  the  supposed  blood 
corpuscles  have  resulted  secondarily  from  the  disintegration  of  haemin 
crystals  or  whether  the  entire  appearance  is  due  to  chemical  reactions 
in  the  incomplete  crystallization  of  inorganic  substances  is  an  open 
question. 

The  so-called  corpuscles  seen  by  me  line  the  vascular  spaces  in  a 
normal  metatarsal  of  Apatosaurus,  or  some  related  dinosaur,  from 

* Roy  L.  Moodie,  1915.  A new  fish  brain  from  the  Coal  Measures  of  Kansas,  with  a 
review  of  other  fossil  brains.  J.  Comp.  Neurol.,  xx\-.  No.  2,  135,  17  figs. 

Roy  L.  Moodie,  1920.  Microscopic  examination  of  a fossil  fish  brain.  J.  Comp. 
Neurol.,  xxxii.  No.  3,  329,  2 figs. 

The  most  remarkable  discoveries  are  those  of  C.  D.  Walcott,  discussed  in  various 
technical  papers  and  popularly  reviewed  by  him  with  references  to  the  literature  in : Evidences 
of  Primitive  Life.  Smithsonian  Report  for  1915,  pp.  235-255,  with  many  beautiful  figures. 


DEFORMING  ARTHRITIDES 


169 


the  Como  beds  of  Wyoming.  They  appear  as  rounded  bodies  which 
' at  a magnification  of  200  diameters  measure  6 mm.  They  are  undoubt- 
I edly  the  same  bodies  seen  by  Seitz  in  a European  dinosaur.  The  vascu- 
lar space,  filled  with  quartz  crystals,  contains  many  of  the  rounded  bodies. 
The  osseous  trabeculae  stand  out  in  sharp  contrast  by  reason  of  their  dark 
'iron  content.  Along  the  margins  of  the  vascular  space  are  also  seen 
I sharp  indentations  which  may  be  interpreted  as  Howship’s  lacunae, 
jin  which  case  the  rounded  bodies  may  be  osteoclasts  instead  of  blood 
cells.  Renault  failed  to  find  blood  cells  in  ancient  bone. 

ARTHRITIDES  IN  THE  MOSASAURS 

. Our  knowledge  of  the  mosasaurs  is  due  in  great  part  to  the  active 
studies  of  Williston,^^  who  noted  evidences  of  disease  among  the  ancient 
vertebrates  of  the  Cretaceous  and  Permian  of  North  America.  Repre- 
sentative specimens  of  mosasaurs  from  the  Cretaceous  of  Kansas  are  to 
I be  seen  in  all  the  large  museums  of  the  world,  and  thousands  more 
await  the  future  explorer. 

One  of  the  most  interesting  examples  of  deforming  arthritides  is 
that  exhibiting  an  osteoma  (Plates  XL VIII,  c-d;  XXXIX;  XL)  and  sur- 
1 rounding  lesions  at  the  interarticular  surface  of  the  third  and  fourth 
dorsal  vertebrae  of  a mosasaur,  Platecarpus  coryphaeus,  from  the  Nio- 
brara Cretaceous  of  Kansas.  I am  indebted  to  Dr.  John  M.  Armstrong, 
of  St.  Paul,  Minnesota,  for  the  gift  of  this  unique  specimen.  He  secured 
it  from  Mr.  Charles  Sternberg,  the  veteran  collector  of  fossil  verte- 
brates. 

The  mosasaurs  (Fig.  16)  were  rather  large  aquatic  reptiles,  some  of 

I '^Samuel  Wendell  Williston,  American  Paleontologist,  1852-1918.  He  received  his 
training  in  paleontology  under  Professor  O.  C.  Marsh  at  Yale  University,  under  whom  he 
_ worked  from  1876-1885.  From  1890-1902  Williston  assembled  at  Kansas  University  one  of 
the  most  notable  collections  of  Cretaceous  vertebrates  ever  made.  His  discussion  on  the 
; nature  of  the  Kansas  Cretaceous  vertebrates  resulted  in  many  studies  and  special  mono- 
: graphs,  such  as:  Mosasaurs  {1898),  Turtles  {1898),  Plesiosaurs  {1903),  Pterodactyls  and  Nyc- 
tosaurus  {1903).  From  1902-1918,  as  Professor  of  Paleontology  in  the  University  of  Chicago 
he  studied  the  vertebrate  fauna  of  the  Permian  Red  Beds  of  Texas,  and  made  a splendid 
collection  of  forms  from  this  horizon.  His  studies,  issued  mainly  in  the  Journal  of  Geology 
and  by  the  University  of  Chicago  Press,  are  noteworthy  achievements  in  the  annals  of  Amer- 
ican Paleontology.  Cacops  and  Desmospondylus  {1910);  American  Permian  Vertebrates 
{1911);  Water  Reptiles  of  the  Past  and  Present  {1914)  are  monographic  studies  on  the  reptiles 
of  the  Permian  of  America.  Aside  from  his  interest  in  fossil  reptiles  Williston  attained  great 
recognition  as  an  authority  on  the  taxonomy  of  the  Diptera,  his  Manual  of  the  Diptera  of 
North  America,  New  Haven,  1908  being  recognized  as  an  authoritative  study  of  the  classifi- 
cation of  the  dipterous  insects  of  America.  An  active  worker  in  many  lines  of  science  Willis- 
ton, as  a student  of  medicine,  recognized  the  significance  of  the  diseases  of  ancient  animals 
and  commented  upon  it. 


170 


PALEOPATHOLOGY 


them  attaining  a length  of  fifty  feet.  They  had  a world-wide  distribu- 
tion and  produced  a variety  of  species  but  existed  only  during  the  later 
part  of  the  Cretaceous.  Perhaps  nowhere  in  the  world  are  the  fossil 
remains  of  marine  reptiles  more  abundant  than  in  the  famous  chalk, 
beds  of  Kansas  (Fig.  17).  Long  continued  explorations  by  collectors 
have  brought  to  light  thousands  of  specimens  of  these  swimming  lizards, 
som.e  of  them  of  extraordinary  completeness  and  perfect  preservation. 
The  complete  structure  and  relations  of  all  parts  of  the  skeleton  and 
some  of  the  soft  parts,  and  the  skin  are  known  and  now  we  are  to  learn 
something  of  the  nature  of  the  diseases  from  which  these  animals 
suffered.  An  interesting  case  of  osteoperiostitis  and  various  necroses 
are  described  herewith. 

The  osteoma,  for  such  it  may  readily  be  called,  does  not  involve  a 
great  deal  of  the  intervertebral  surface  but  has  overlapped  the  junction 
of  the  two  vertebrae  (Plate  XXXIX)  and  by  adhesion  has  formed  a 
weak  ankylosis.  The  greater  part  of  the  osteoma,  however,  lies  on  the 
posterior  end  of  the  third  vertebra,  on  the  right  side,  while  on  the  left 
there  is  an  extensive  overgrowth  of  the  vertebral  junction. 

The  lesion,  as  determined  in  a sawn  section  (Plate  XL)  attained  a 
thickness  of  10  mm.  and  a length  of  25  mm.  On  the  right  of  the  bone 
the  lesion  is  relatively  smooth  with  fines  of  growth  running  circularly 
around  the  body  of  the  mass,  interrupted  anteriorly  by  an  invading 
mass  of  rougher  bone.  The  portion  on  the  left  side  is  quite  roughened 
and  raised  into  a series  of  irregular  ridges.  The  osteoma  is  sharply 
marked  off  from  the  body  of  the  vertebra  itself  and  has  involved  only  a 
portion  of  the  vertebral  tissue  (Plate  XL).  The  lesion  seems  to  be  a 
real  exostosis  and  not  a mere  osteophyte.^^ 

Its  growth  from  the  body  of  the  vertebra  may  be  seen  in  the  figure 
(Plate  XL).  An  examination  of  the  sawn  section  shows  that  the  osteo- 
ma began  as  a pathological  condition  near  the  end  of  the  vertebra  and 
grew  anteriorly  along  the  ventral  surface  of  the  body  of  the  vertebra, 
leaving  a sharp  and  clean  cut  distinction  between  the  osteoma  and  the 
vertebra  itself.  The  vascular  spaces  in  the  osteoma  are  arranged  at 
right  angles  to  those  of  the  vertebra  and  the  trabeculae  of  bone  in  the 
osteoma  are  much  more  contorted  and  conv.oluted. 

The  following  definitions  of  these  two  terms  given  by  L.  Hektoen : An  American  Text- 
book of  Pathology,  1901,  p.  672,  may  help  in  forming  a decision; 

Osteophyte:  Circumscribed  nodular  or  flat  periosteal  inflammator}'  bone  formations  are 
called  osteophytes. 

Exostoses  are  circumscribed  external  new  formations  of  bone  that  in  their  genesis  corre- 
spond more  closely  to  true  tumors. 


DEFORMING  ARTERITIDES 


171 


Microscopic  examination  (Plate  XXXIX,  b and  d)  of  a section 
-taken  from  the  junction  of  the  osteoma  and  vertebra  reveals  a great 
amount  of  disturbance  in  the  structure  of  the  bone,  a reduction  in  vas- 
cularity and  a rearrangement  of  the  trabeculae.  The  growth  is  a true 
tumor  formation,  involving  the  substance  of  the  vertebra. 

OSTEOMATA  AMONG  MODERN  VERTEBRATES 

Bony  tumors  are  known  to  occur  commonly  among  modern  verte- 
brates and  it  is  surprising  that  more  is  not  known  of  fossil  representa- 
tives of  this  type  of  tumor.  J.  Bland  Sutton^^  has  reviewed  in  part  the 
literature  dealing  with  this  class  of  objects  and  mentions  osteomata  of 
the  frontal  sinuses  occasionally  seen  in  oxen,  where  they  often  form 
huge  irregular  lobulated  masses,  sometimes  weighing  as  much  as  six- 
teen pounds,  and  as  dense  as  ivory.  Paul  Gervais^^  has  published 
descriptions  of  many  interesting  tumors  from  fishes,  and  Sutton  figures 
a specimen  of  Chaetodon  furnished  vdth  many  rounded  bony  tumors. 

A similar  type  of  tumor  may  be  expected  in  paleontological  col- 
lections, the  odontomata,  which  have  been  described  as  occurring  in  the 
horse,  the  dasyure,  the  goat,  marmot,  elephant,  Canadian  porcupine, 
and  other  rodents.  No  objects  similar  to  these  are  known  in  a fossil 
■ condition. 

MULTIPLE  ARTHRITIS  IN  A MOSASAUR 

That  the  ancient  swimming  reptiles  often  suffered  rheumatic  pains 
is  indicated  by  the  occurrence  of  arthritic  lesions  in  a nearly  complete 
series  of  foot  bones  representing  the  left  hallux  of  a large  mosasaur, 
Platecarpus,  the  complete  skeleton  of  which  is  in  the  Kansas  University 
museum.  I am  indebted  to  Mr.  H.  T.  Martin  for  loaning  these  interesting 
specimens  for  study.  The  metatarsal  (Fig.  a,  Plate  XLI)  is  especially 
pathologic,  flattened,  shortened,  necrotic,  and  covered  with  carious 
roughening.  When  compared  to  a normal  metatarsal  the  pathology 
is  very  evident.  Each  successive  joint  of  the  toe  is  deformed,  enlarged, 
necrotic,  with  the  articular  ends  of  the  phalanges  lipped,  similar  to  the 
lipping  observed  in  arthritis  in  human  skeletons.  This  is  the  first 
known  example  of  multiple  arthritis  in  a fossil  vertebrate.  The  primary 
lesion  was  doubtless  at  the  metacarpotarsal  junction,  from  which  point 
it  spread  by  metastasis  to  the  other  joints. 

j Tumors — Innocent  and  Malignant,  Their  Clinical  Features  and  Appropriate  Treat- 

ment, Philadelphia,  1893,  8°,  Chap.  III. 

Jour,  de  Zoologie,  1875,  vol.  iv. 


172 


PALEOPATHOLOGY 


Microscopic  study  of  the  joint  surfaces  shows  an  increased  vascu- 
larity of  the  tissue,  differing  from  the  normal  bone  of  the  shafts  where 
the  tissue  is  more  dense.  The  hypertrophy  observed  in  the  ends  of  the 
bones  is  doubtless  due  to  the  increased  vascularity.  The  nature  of  the 
finer  elements  of  bone  remain  unchanged. 

CRETACEOUS  OSTEOPERIOSTITIS  WITH  ARTHRITIC  LESIONS 

The  pathological  arm  bones  (Plate  XXXIV)  of  a Cretaceous  mosa- 
saur  must  be  considered  here,  not  because  the  lesions  are  all  of  an 
arthritic  nature  but  because  the  surface  lesions  have  run  over  into  the 
joint  cavity  and  what  originally  was  doubtless  a case  of  surface  osteo- 
periostitis has  resulted  in  an  extensive  deforming  arthritic  condition. 

Osteoperiostitis  or  some  similar  sub-periosteal  inflammation  is 
evidently  the  cause  of  various  flattened  lesions  which  occur  abundantly 
on  the  humerus  and  radius  of  a mosasaur,  described  by  Williston  (1898), 
in  association  with  a portion  of  the  carpus  and  a metacarpal  bone.  All 
of  these  osseous  elements  are  covered  with  exostosial  lesions,  excepting 
that  at  the  distal  end  of 'the  humerus  the  lesions  have  grown  over  the 
joint  cavity  and  the  articular  surfaces  of  the  bones  are  only  slightly  af- 
fected. The  joint  surfaces  of  the  bones  of  these  animals  are  always 
roughened,  apparently  for  the  attachment  of  the  articular  cartilage, 
and  it  is  difficult  to  determine  the  amount  of  disease  which  is  present. 

The  lesions  on  the  surface  of  the  humerus  (Plate  XXXIV)  are  flat- 
tened, irregular,  and  fairly  extensive  over  the  distal  two-thirds  of  both 
sides  of  the  bone.  Their  appearance  is  quite  different  from  the  normal 
surface  of  the  bone,  being  much  more  eburnated  and  dense.  The 
largest  single  lesion  occupies  an  area  of  35  mm.  by  50  mm.  The  surfaces 
of  all  the  lesions  are  irregularly  pitted,  as  if  penetrated  by  nutrient 
vessels.  Nutrient  foramina  are  very  abundant  on  the  surface  of  all 
mosasaur  limb  bones,  and  it  is  probable  that  the  lesions  were  formed 
around  the  nutrient  arteries.  None  of  the  lesions  attains  a thickness  of 
more  than  4 mm. 

The  line  of  union,  as  seen  in  a sawn  section  (Plate  XXXV,  d)  be- 
tween the  diaphysis  and  the  lesion  is  a sharp  one,  and  in  the  fossilized 
bone  the  lesion  has  a darker  color  than  the  normal  bone.  The  osseous 
trabeculae  of  the  lesion  are  more  vascular  than  those  of  normal  bone. 
The  intertrabecular  spaces  are  small,  fairly  regular  with  no  large  open- 
ings, the  small  spaces  in  the  fossil  being  filled  with  calcite  crystals. 

Microscopic  examination  of  a thin  section,  12  micra,  shows  the 
nature  of  the  histological  details  of  the  lesion  very  well.  Two  important 


DEFORMING  ARTHRITIDES 


173 


facts  are  very  striking:  the  preservation  of  true  osteoid  tissue  and 
abundant  perforating  fibers  of  Sharpey.  The  section  (Plate  XXXVI)  is 
filled  with  vascular  spaces,  occupied  by  calcite  crystals.  An  especially 
large  one  seen  in  the  right  portion  of  the  figure  may  be  an  Haversian 
system. 

The  perforating  fibers  of  Sharpey  are  made  up  of  thread-like  strands 
(Plate  XXXVII)  which  run,  apparently,  through  the  lamellae  of  bone, 

I as  in  modern  times.  A high  power  study  shows  the  canaliculi  short  and 
unbranching  and  they  are  not  interfered  with  by  the  bundles  of  per- 
» forating  fibers  of  Sharpey. 

The  osteoid  tissue  (Plate  XXXVII)  characterized  by  the  absence 
of  canaliculi,  occupies  the  peripheral  portion  of  the  section.  In  general 
appearances  there  is  no  difference  between  the  osteoid  tissue  seen  in 
this  ancient  lesion  and  that  seen  in  a recent  human  humerus  in  a case 
of  osteomyelitis. 

HISTORY  OR  SPONDYLITIS  DEFORMANS 
I The  following  brief  tabular  survey  of  Spondylitis  deformans  will 
show  for  one  form  of  pathology  the  antiquity  and  nearly  continuous 
history  of  one  diseased  condition,  widely  prevalent  at  the  present  time. 
The  age  given  is  in  terms  of  the  maximum  years  allotted  the  geological 
periods  to  which  must  be  added  an  enormous  undetermined  period  of 
time  for  the  Epi-Mesozoic  interval.  The  history  begins  with  the 
Comanchean  though  doubtless  closer  scrutiny  of  the  Permian  verte- 
brates would  also  reveal  it  there. 

Estimated  age  in  years. 


Comanchean-evidences  seen  in  various  dinosaurs 1 10,000,000 

Cretaceous-evidences  seen  in  various  dinosaurs 86,000,000 

Eocene-evidences  seen  in  primitive  ungulates 50,000,000 

Miocene-evidence  seen  in  an  Egyptian  crocodile 1 5,000,000 

Pliocene-evidence  seen  in  lumbar  vertebrae  of  a camel 1 ,800,000 

Pleistocene-evidences  seen  in  cave-bears,^®  saber-tooth  cat 750,000 

Neolithic  man 75,000 

Ancient  Egyptians 6,000 

Pre-Columbian  Indians  of  America 600 


On  the  basis  of  the  maximum  estimate  it  has  been  since  life  existed 
in  such  form  as  to  leave  recognizable  fossils  nearly  600,000,000  years, 
and  the  pathology  of  Spondylitis  deformans  has  had  its  present  charac- 
teristics for  about  one-sixth  of  that  time.  This  is  but  a small  part  of 

M.  Baudouin,  1912.  Les  maladies  des  animaux  prehistoriques.  La  spondylite  defor- 
mante  chez  I’ours  des  cavemes  (Ursus  spelaeus).  Comptes  Rendus  Acad,  des  Sci.,  Paris,  p. 
1822. 


174 


PALEOPATHOLOGY 


geologic  history  since  the  study  of  radioactive  substances  suggests  a 
duration  of  1,600,000,000  for  the  Archeozoic  alone. 

SPONDYLITIS  DEFORMANS  IN  EOCENE  MAMMALS 

Definite  evidences  of  this  arthritic  disturbance  are  observed  in  two 
Eocene  mammals.  Limnocyon  (No.  13139,  American  Museum  of 
Natural  History)  shows  spondylitis  in  two  caudal  vertebrae  in  which 
the  lateral  ligament  of  the  tail  is  involved.  The  lesions,  old  as  they  are, 
are  extremely  like  similar  lesions  in  human  vertebrae.  Another  exam- 
ple is  that  of  Pantolambda  (No.  16663,  American  Museum  of  Natural 
History)  which  shows  spondyUtis  in  the  ventral  ligament  of  the  anterior 
dorsals  or  posterior  cervicals.  This  animal  is  derived  from  the  Torrejon, 
Paleocene  beds.  No  evidences  of  the  incipient  lipping  were  definitely 
observed,  though  it  was  suggested  in  a number  of  places  on  the  verte- 
brae. The  conclusion  derived  from  the  observations  are  that  the  condi- 
tion was  not  one  of  long  standing  but  in  its  early  stages.  It  must  take 
many  years  to  produce  the  firm  ankylosis  seen  in  the  advanced  cases  of 
spondylitis  deformans. 

SPONDYLITIS  DEFORMANS  IN  A MIOCENE  CROCODILE 

The  typical  lesions  of  chronic  joint  disease,  belonging  to  the  phase 
under  discussion,  have  been  reported  by  Ruffer  (1917)  in  a Lower 
Miocene  crocodile,  Tomisioma  Dowsoni,  from  Egypt.  He  has  also 
given  in  this  paper  a splendid  comparative  review  of  the  hterature 
giving  instances  of  this  phase  of  pathology,  as  well  as  describing 
(1918.2)  fully  the  nature  of  this  disturbance  among  ancient  Egj^tians. 
At  the  time  when  Ruffer  wrote  (1917)  spondylitis  deformans  had  no 
known  antiquity  of  great  duration.  It  had  been  observed  in  the  skele- 
ton of  a man  from  the  Quaternary  station  of  Raymonden,  a village 
situated  in  the  commune  of  Chancelade,  seven  kilometers  to  the  north- 
east of  Peribueux;  in  prehistoric  skeletons  described  by  J.  de  Baron; 
in  remains  from  the  Neolithic  ossarium  of  Bazoges  en  Pareds;  in  the 
historic  remains  from  Caithness,  England;  in  the  cave-bear;  in  an  ex- 
tinct bison;  in  the  sacred  monkeys  of  Thebes;  in  the  sheep  and  oxen  of 
ancient  Egypt  and  traces  of  ossific  inflammation  in  the  pelvis  of  Bos 
africanus.  None  of  these  examples,  however  are  older  than  the  Pleisto- 
cene. We  now  know  spondylitis  deformans  as  old  as  the  Comanchean 
period. 

The  specimen  representing  the  fossil  crocodile  was  discovered  by 
M.  Fourtau,  of  the  Geological  Museum,  Cairo,  near  Hateyet  el  Mog- 


DEFORMING  ARTHRITIDES 


175 


harah,  a lake  in  the  Mariut  desert  and  consists  of  two  vertebrae 
thoroughly  petrified.  A thick  band  of  osseous  tissue,  obviously 
pathological,  firmly  binds  the  vertebrae  together.  On  the  right  side  the 
pathological  osseous  band  extends  to  the  base  of  the  transverse  process 
of  the  posterior  vertebra.  A distinct  pathological  osseous  arch  with  its 
concavity  towards  the  intervertebral  space  bridges  over  an  opening 
which  may  have  borne  a bloodvessel.  The  new  bone  is  sharply  sepa- 
rated from  the  bodies  of  the  vertebrae,  superadded  to  them,  and  is 
thickest  on  one  side.  In  the  crocodile,  as  in  man,  the  disease  is  more 
marked  on  one  side. 

SPONDYLITIS  DEFORMANS  IN  A PLIOCENE  CAMEL 

; The  history  of  this  interesting  form  of  pathology,  already  shown  to 
be  very  extensively  developed  among  fossil  vertebrates,  is  made  more 
complete  by  a specimen  loaned  me  for  study  by  Mr.  Harold  Cook  of 
Agate,  Nebraska.  It  consists  of  two  firmly  ankylosed  lumbar  verte- 
brae (Fig.  a,  Plate  LVIII)  of  a very  large  undetermined  camel  from  the 
Snake  Creek,  Pliocene,  beds  of  northwestern  Nebraska. 

These  deposits  are  extremely  interesting  and  are  productive  of 
a rather  extensive  mammalian  fauna.  The  bones  are  usually  found 
on  sparsely  grass-grown  hill-tops,  loose  in  sand,  greatly  intermingled, 
and  largely  water  worn,  but  very  thoroughly  petrified.  There  are 
pockets  which  contain  hundreds  of  bones,  teeth,  and  fragments  with 
: an  occasional  complete  or  approximately  complete  skeletal  part,  such 
as  the  lower  jaw  of  the  rhinoceros  (Figure  24)  which  bears  the  evidence 
of  Pliocene  actinomycosis.  Rarely  are  skeletal  parts  associated,  indicat- 
ing the  distributing  action  of  water  or  the  erosive  power  of  wind-blown 
sand. 

The  camel  vertebrae  form  no  exception  to  the  majority  of  fossils 
from  this  locality.  The  specimen  is  greatly  eroded,  but  presents  all  the 
evidences  of  typical  spondylitis  deformans,  with  the  hpping  projecting 
; over  the  free  edges  of  the  articular  surfaces  in  two  blunt  exostoses. 
The  articular  surfaces  between  the  two  vertebrae  are  hidden  by  a flat 
encircling  band  of  bone  which  forms  a firm  union  of  the  two  bones. 

It  is  interesting  to  place  in  a series  a modern  human  lumbar  verte- 
bra, the  vertebra  of  a saber-tooth  tiger  from  the  Pleistocene  of  Califor- 
nia, a lumbar  from  a European  cave  bear  and  the  Pliocene  camel,  all 
bearing  lesions  of  this  same  pathology,  and  note  the  very  close  similar- 
' ity  of  form  the  lesions  have  adopted  at  different  ages  in  the  earth’s 
history. 


176 


PALEOPATHOLOGY 


Ruffer  (1921)  has  described  and  figured  a lower  Miocene  crocodile 
from  Egypt  showing  evidences  of  this  pathology  and  I (1920.3)  have  dis- 
cussed its  occurrence  in  the  Eocene,  and  Cretaceous  and  Comanchean. 
So  that  the  record  is  unusually  complete  for  this  form  of  pathology. 
Ruffer  has  given  (1921)  the  best  discussion  to  date  of  the  nature  and 
occurrence  of  this  pathology  among  ancient  human  races.  He  has  also 
given  a discussion  as  to  the  causes  of  this  disease  but  from  the  facts  at 
hand  no  reliable  conclusion  can  be  drawn  as  to  its  etiology. 

It  will  be  interesting  to  give  here  the  detailed  measurements  of  the 
camel  lumbar  vertebrae,  with  especial  attention  to  the  pathological 
lesions,  thus  giving  a more  accurate  insight  into  the  extent  of  the 
exostoses. 


Length  of  normal  bones  above  exostoses 84  mm. 

Length  of  entire  specimen  including  exostoses 95  mm. 

Width  of  articular  surface  of  vertebra 32  mm. 

Length  of  exostosis 8 mm. 

Width  of  largest  exostosis 22  mm. 

Estimated  thickness  of  encircling  band 5 mm. 


SPONDYLITIS  DEFORMANS  AMONG  PLEISTOCENE  MAMMALS 

Pathological  lesions  of  the  lips  of  the  vertebrae  of  var>dng  extent 
have  been  known  on  Pleistocene  fossils  for  a long  time.  They  were 
among  the  earliest  lesions  seen  on  cave-bears  and  have  been  discussed 
by  von  Walther  (1825),  Mayer  (1854),  Virchow,  Schlosser,  Abel 
and  many  other  writers  on  pathological  conditions  among  ancient 
vertebrates.  Ruffer  (1917)  in  his  paper  on  the  pathological  vertebrae 
of  a Miocene  crocodile  has  given  the  best  literature  review  so  far.  In 
this  review  he  discussed  evidences  of  articular  osteitis  in  early  man  and 
ancient  animals,  giving  all  literary  references  needed. 

A comparison  of  various  Pleistocene  and  recent  lesions  is  shown  in 
Plate  XLIII,  and  an  idea  of  the  histological  changes  involved  may  be 
had  from  an  examination  of  the  photomicrograph  (Plate  XLII). 
There  are  undoubtedly  many  evidences  of  this  form  of  disease  among 
the  numerous  Pleistocene  vertebrates  of  the  Rancho  la  Brea,  and  the 
promised  monographic  studies  of  this  fauna  will  doubtless  contain  much 
that  is  new  to  this  disease.  The  only  example  I have  had  at  my  dis- 
posal is  that  of  a lumbar  vertebra  of  Smilodon,  a large  saber-tooth  cat  or 
tiger  given  me  by  Mr.  E.  S.  Riggs  (Plate  XLIII).  Judging  from  the 
nature  of  the  lesion  there  were  several  vertebrae  firmly  united  into  a 
solid  mass,  recalling  conditions  seen  in  ancient  Eg>'ptians  as  described 
by  Ruffer  (1921).  Ruffer  has  also  discussed  the  causes  underljdng  the 


DEFORMING  ARTHRITIDES 


177 


Iception  and  progress  of  this  disease.  His  conclusions  leave  one  very 
(icertain  as  to  its  etiology  in  human  beings,  so  we  are  much  more  un- 
(rtain  about  it  among  fossil  forms.  Certainly  all  factors  such  as 
(vellings,  food,  alcohols,  and  drugs  may  be  ehminated  from  the 
(nosaurs  and  other  fossil  reptiles,  so  the  best  we  can  say  as  to  its  origin 
i;  “We  do  not  know!” 


DEFORMING  ARTHRITIDES 


179 


DESCRIPTIONS  OF  FIGURES  11-18  AND  PLATES  XXVII-XLIII  ILLUSTRATING 

CHAPTER  V 


180 


PALEOPATHOLOGY 


Figure  11 

Fractured  rib,  with  considerable  callus  and  hypertrophy  in  a skeleton  of  the 
American  Mastodon  in  Yale  University. 

Figure  12 

Outline  sketch  showing  normal  appearance  of  the  two  vertebrae  shown  in 
Plate  XXIX,  b,  based  on  Apatosaurus.  A-chevron.  This  process  in  the  patho- 
logical specimen  has  been  shoved  far  ventralward  and  is  involved  in  the  tumor- 
like mass. 


Figure  13 

Outline  reconstruction  of  one  of  the  giant  dinosaurs,  which  attained  a length 
of  almost  seventy  feet,  showing  relative  capacity  of  the  dural  spaces  in  the  head, 
spinal  canal,  sacrum  and  tail. 


f 

I 


I 

( 


DEFORMING  ARTHRITIDES 


181 


FIGURES  14-15 


182 


PALEOPATHOLOGY 


Figure  14 

Sawn  hemisection  through  the  large  dinosaur  tumor,  showing  the  arrangement 
of  the  osseous  trabeculae  and  vascular  spaces. 

One-half  natural  size. 

The  chevron  projects  ventrally. 


Figure  15 

Caudal  vertebral,  Nos.  17-21,  of  Diplodocus  longus,  seen  from  the  right  side, 
showing  coalescence  of  the  vertebral  articulations  by  the  lesions  of  Spondylitis 
deformans.  The  entire  series  has  a length  of  about  five  feet.  The  opening  seen 
in  the  first  lesion  to  the  left  allows  an  examination  of  the  articular  surfaces  which 
are  seen  to  be  unaffected  by  the  disease.  A fortunate  fracture  through  the  second 
lesion  from  the  left  shows  the  entire  articular  ends  of  the  vertebrae,  unaffected  by 
disease,  and  the  ring-like  lesion  of  spondylitis.  The  ventral  chevrons  are  broad 
in  this  region,  for  at  this  point  the  30  foot  tail  of  the  creature  reached  the  ground. 
Specimen  in  the  American  Museum  of  Natural  History.  X 1/15.  (After  Osborn.) 


Figure  14 


Figure  15 


DEFORMING  ARTHRITIDES 


FIGURE  16 


184 


PALEOPATHOLOGY 


Figure  16 

Restoration  of  a Kansas  Cretaceous  Mosasaur,  Clidastes,  shown  in  association 
with  the  floating  crinoid,  JJinlacrinus  socialis,  and  the  flying  reptile,  Pleranodon 
ingens.  (After  Williston.) 


Figure  16 


DEFORMING  ARTHRITIDES 


185 


FIGURES  17-18 


186 


PALEOPATHOLOGY 


Figure  17 

A large  exposure  of  the  famous  Niobrara  Cretaceous  chalk  deposits  of  Kansas. 
At  the  “X”  in  the  upper  center  part  of  the  figure  a pterodactyl  skeleton  was  found. 
Fossil  mosasaur,  plesiosaur,  pterodactyl,  and  fish  bones  are  to  be  found  projecting 
at  intervals  throughout  the  cliff,  but  complete  or  fairly  complete  skeletons  are 
rare.  From  these  or  similar  cliffs  were  recovered  the  pathological  bones  described 
herewith.  The  cliff's  may  truly  be  regarded  as  the  ‘book  of  nature’  since  the  suc- 
ceeding layers  of  rock  have  different  tales  to  tell. 

Figure  18 

The  form  of  the  normal  elements  of  an  arm  of  a Cretaceous  swimming  reptile 
from  Kansas.  (After  WiUiston.) 


Figure  17 


Figure  18 


•^4. 1 I an 


DEFORMING  ARTHRITIDES 


PLATE  XXVII 


188 


PA  LEOPA  THOLOGY 


PLATE  XXVn 

DISTINGUISHED  PALEONTOLOGISTS 

Upper  left.  Sir  Richard  Owen,  an  English  anatomist  and  paleontologist,  1804- 
1892. 

Upper  right.  Othniel  Charles  Marsh,  an  American  Paleontologist,  1831-1897. 
Lower  left.  John  Bell  Hatcher,  American  paleontologist,  1861-1904. 

Lower  right.  Samuel  Wendell  Williston,  American  paleontologist  and  dipter- 
ologist,  1852-1918. 


Plate  XXVII 


DEFORMING  ARTHRITIDES 


189 


PLATE  XXVIII 


190 


PALEOPATHOLOGY 


PLATE  XXVin 

upper.  Restoration  of  the  giant  reptile,  Apatosaurus,  as  it  may  have  appeared 
in  its  Mesozoic  haunts.  Note  the  long  slender  tail,  easily  subject  to  trauma.  Tht 
tail  in  Diplodocus  was  even  longer  and  much  more  slender.  After  Osborn. 

Lower.  A dinosaur  in  the  rocks. 


Plate  XXVIII 


DEFORMING  ARTHRITIDES 


191 


PLATE  XXIX 


192 


PA  LED  PA  T HO  LOGY 


PLATE  XXIX 

DEFORMING  ARTHRITIDES  IN  THE  DINOSAURS 

a.  Right  side  of  caudals  22  and  23  of  the  giant  dinosaur  Apatosaurus  Louisae 
Holland,  showing  lesion  due  possibly  to  a fracture  of  the  joint,  since  the  surface 
shows  many  necrotic  sinuses  indicating  a long-standing  sepsis.  There  is  some  little 
restoration  with  plaster  on  this  surface,  less  on  the  other. 

b.  Two  caudal  vertebrae  of  a sauropodous  dinosaur,  possibly  Apatosaurus, 
exhibiting  a pathological  lesion  which  may  be  interpreted  as  a haemangioma,  a 
callus,  chronic  osteomyelitis,  or  some  unknown  cause.  This  is  one  of  the  most  in- 
teresting evidences  of  disease  among  fossil  animals.  The  specimen  is  from  the  Como 
Beds  (Comanchean)  of  Wyoming  and  is  the  property  of  the  Kansas  University 
Museum. 

c.  Scapula  of  a large  Dinosaur,  Trachodon  aifnectens , from  the  Lance  Forma- 
tion, Niobrara  County,  Wyoming,  showing  an  anomalous  vascular  foramen. 
Skeleton  mounted  in  Yale  University  Museum. 

d.  Outline  figure,  with  skeleton  of  Apatosaurus,  showing  location  of  pathologi- 
cal vertebrae.  This  animal  attained  a length  of  nearly  70  feet,  a height  of  14  feet, 
and  a weight  of  nearly  40  tons.  BasecTon  a figure  by  Matthew. 


Plate  XXIX 


DEFORMING  ARTHRITIDES 


193 


PLATE  XXX 


194 


PALEOPA  THOLOGY 


PLATE  XXX 
A FOSSIL  HEMANGIOMA 

Sawn  sections  through  the  middle  of  the  tumor  mass  of  the  hemangioma  in 
the  caudal  vertebrae,  shown  in  Plate  XXIX,  b. 

The  upper  figure  shows,  slightly  enlarged,  the  distribution  of  the  osseous 
trabeculae  at  the  periphery  of  the  tumor.  It  is  to  be  noted  that  the  vascular  spaces 
increase  in  dimensions  and  number  as  the  periphery  is  approached. 

The  lower  figure  exhibits  the  distribution  of  vascular  spaces  at  the  center 
of  the  tumor  mass.  The  very  large  space  at  the  left  may  be  the  remains  of  the  inter- 
vertebral space  since  the  section  was  cut  at  the  junction  of  the  two  vertebrae. 
Other  smaller  vascular  spaces  are  shown  scattered  throughout  the  photographic 
field. 


Plate  XXX 


DEFORMING  ARTHRITIDES 


195 


PLATE  XXXI 


i 


196 


PALEOPA  THOLOGY 


PLATE  XXXI 

Microscopic  study  of  portion  of  the  periphery  of  the  large  tumor  from  the  tail 
of  a dinosaur,  showing  the  osseous  lacunae,  with  small  canaliculi,  arranged  around  a 
large  vascular  opening,  thus  simulating  an  Haversian  system.  The  lacunae  of  the 
dinosaur  bones  are  much  smaller  than  are  the  lacunae  of  other  fossil  animals.  The 
dark  areas  are  due  to  the  staining  of  iron  with  which  the  bones  are  infiltrated. 
X 300. 


Plate  XXXI 


DEFORMING  ARTHRITIDES 


197 


PLATE  XXXII 


198 


PA  LEOPA  THOLOGY 


PLATE  xxxn 

HISTOLOGY  OF  DIKOSAUS  BONE 

a.  Photomicrograph  of  a portion  of  an  osseous  trabecula,  showing  natme  of 
lacunae  and  indications  of  lamellae.  The  space  to  the  right  is  a vascular  channel. 
X 300. 

h.  Photomicrograph  of  periphery  of  dinosaurian  hemangioma  from  the  Como 
Beds  of  Wyoming,  to  show  nature  of  the  lacunae,  shown  in  the  black  spots.  There 
are  two  large  vascular  spaces.  X 300. 

c.  The  lacunae  in  this  section  of  dinosaur  bone  from  the  hemangioma  show  verj' 
clearly  the  absence  of  canaliculi.  X 300. 

d.  Photomicrograph  of  another  area  of  pathologic  dinosaur  bone,  showing 
the  nature  and  arrangement  of  the  bony  elements  around  the  large  vascular  space 
in  the  center.  X 70. 


Plate  XXXII 


DEFORMING  ARTHRITIDES 


199 


PLATE  XXXIII 


»• 


; 


/ 


200 


PALEOPATHOLOGY 


PLATE  XXXm 

HISTOLOGY  OF  FOSSIL  HEMANGIOMA 

a.  Photomicrograph  of  a section  taken  from  a region  of  the  periphery  of  the 
fossil  dinosaur  bone  tumor,  showing  in  an  oblique  view  the  distribution  of  the  lamel- 
lae, lacunae,  vascular  spaces  and  trabeculae  of  bone.  This  is  aU  pathologic  bone 
and  formed  a small  exostosis  of  the  periphery  of  the  tumor.  X 70. 

h.  One  of  the  trabeculae,  shown  in  “a,”  exhibiting  the  nature  of  the  lamellae, 
and  lacunae  with  their  short  canaliculi.  An  especially  well  developed  lacuna, 
possibly  filled  with  bacteria,  is  shown  in  the  lower  right  hand  comer.  X 300. 

c.  One  of  the  adjoining  trabeculae  showing  the  nature  of  the  lamellae,  and 
lacunae  with  short  canaliculi.  The  large  dark  space  in  the  upper  right  hand  corner 
is  a vascular  canal  around  which  the  lamellae  are  arranged  in  a somewhat  concen- 
tric manner.  X 300. 

d.  Section  taken  from  the  periphery  of  the  fossil  dinosaur  bone  tumor  showing 
in  an  oblique  view  the  distribution  of  the  lacunae,  vascular  spaces,  and  trabeculae 
of  bone.  This  is  all  pathologic  bone.  X 70. 


Plate  XXXIII 


^ Mm 


lli  i ■ ■ 1 , 


w sf 


' ”S'^ 


DEFORMING  ARTURITIDES 


201 


PLATE  XXXIV 


202 


PALEOPA  THOLOGY 


PLATE  xxxrv 

The  arm  bones  of  a mosasaur  from  the  Cretaceous  of  Kansas,  (compare  with 
normal  bone,  Fig.  18),  showing  lesions  resembling  those  of  osteoperiostitis.  The 
large  bone  is  the  humerus,  the  other  probably  a radius.  The  rough  surface  of  the 
bone  indicates  its  pathology.  Normal,  well  preserved  specimens  of  these  bones  are 
quite  smooth.  The  lesions  extend  to  the  articular  surfaces.  Specimens  the  property 
of  the  Kansas  University  Museum. 


Plate  XXXIV 


h 


DEFORMING  ARTHRITIDES 


203 


ft\  i>) 


PLATE  XXXV 


) 


.r;  ■ 


■: 


%y“'>.j!.’  • -.r 


204 


PALEOPATHOLOGY 


PLATE  XXXV 

THE  OLDEST  KNOWN  FIBERS  OF  SHARPEY 

a.  An  area  of  one  of  the  lesions  shown  on  the  humerus  of  a mosasaur,  Plate 
XXXIV,  showing  osteoid  tissue.  The  black  spots  are  the  lacunae  which  have  no 
canaliculi,  or  but  very  short  ones.  The  large  dark  stripe  in  the  lower  left  hand 
corner  is  a post-fossilization  crack.  The  lines  seen  in  the  lower  right  hand  comer 
are  the  fibers  of  Sharpey,  the  oldest  occurrence  so  far  known.  See  Plates  XXXVI 
and  XXXVII  for  further  details  of  the  histology  of  these  fibers.  The  photomicro- 
graph is  X 300. 

b.  High  power  view  (X  300)  of  an  area  around  the  post-fossilization  crack, 
showing  the  nature  of  the  perforating  fibers  and  the  lacunae. 

c.  Another  area  of  the  mosasaur  humerus  where,  between  vascular  spaces, 
bundles  of  perforating  fibers  are  abundant.  X 70. 

d.  Sawn  section  of  the  humerus,  Plate  XXXIV,  showing  in  the  dark  band  on 
the  left  the  sharp  distinction  of  the  pathologic  bone.  X 4. 


Plate  XXXV 


DEFORMING  ARTHRITIDES  205 


PLATE  XXXVI 


206 


PALEOPA  THOLOGY 


PLATE  XXXVI 

Microscopic  study  of  a section  from  one  of  the  lesions  on  the  surface  of  the 
humerus  shown  in  Plate  XXXIV,  showing  bundles  of  perforating  fibers  of  Sharpey, 
osseous  lacunae,  and  vascular  openings.  The  large  clear  space  at  right  portion  of 
the  picture  is  a vascular  channel  filled  with  calcite  crystals.  X 300. 


Plate  XXXVI 


DEFORMING  ARTHRITIDES 


207 


PLATE  XXXVII 


208 


PALEOPATHOLOGY 


PLATE  XXXVn 

High  power  microscopic  study  of  another  area  of  the  same  section  as  that 
shown  in  Plate  XXXVI,  showing  the  nature  of  the  perforating  fibers  of  Sharpey, 
seen  in  the  long  black  strands  running  obliquely  through  the  figure;  the  small 
lacunae  with  short  canaliculi,  which  have  no  apparent  arrangement. 


Plate  XXXVII 


DEFORMING  ARTHRITIDES 


209 


PLATE  XXXVIII 


210 


PALEOPA  T HO  LOGY 


PLATE  xxxvm 
HISTOLOGY  OF  MOSASAUR  BONE 

a.  Portion  of  normal  bone,  showing  numerous  large  vascular  channels,  taken 
from  the  wall  of  an  alveolus  on  a normal  pterygoid  of  a mosasaur  from  the  Creta- 
ceous, Niobrara  Chalk,  of  Kansas.  X 70. 

b.  Enlarged  view  (X  300)  of  one  of  the  primitive  vascular  channels  of  the  bone 
shown  in  “a”  representing  an  early  type  of  Haversian  canal,  around  which  the 
lamellae  and  lacunae  are  concentrically  arranged. 

c.  The  lamellae  and  lacunae  are  especially  clear  in  this  portion  of  the  same 
normal  bone.  The  section  is  so  thick  that  two  or  more  layers  of  lacunae  are  seen, 
in  varying  degrees  of  density.  X 300. 

d.  The  preponderance  of  vascularity  in  the  lesion  of  osteoperiostitis  on  the 
mosasaur  humerus,  Plate  XXXIV,  from  the  Cretaceous  of  Kansas.  X 70. 


Plate  XXXVIII 


DEFORMING  ARTHRITIDES 


211 


PLATE  XXXIX 


212 


PALEOPATHOLOGY 


PLATE  XXXIX 
A CRETACEOUS  OSTEOMA 

a.  Photograph  of  the  dorsal  vertebrae  of  Platecarpus,  a Cretaceous  mosasaur 
from  the  Niobrara  chalk  of  Kansas,  showing  to  the  left  the  unique  osteoma. 

b.  Photomicrograph  X 70  of  a portion  of  the  osteoma  showing  large  vascular 
spaces  and  slender  trabeculae  of  bone  in  which  are  to  be  seen  the  lamellae  and 
lacunae. 

c.  A sawn  median  section  through  the  body  of  the  vertebrae  showing  the  close 
union,  better  shown  in  Plate  XL,  of  the  osteoma  to  the  bone.  The  osteoma  is  on 
the  left  above  the  middle. 

d.  Enlarged  photomicrograph,  X 300,  of  one  of  the  above  trabeculae  showing 
nature  of  lamellae  and  lacunae. 


Plate  XXXIX 


214 


PALEOPATHOLOGY 


PLATE  XL 

A SAWN  SECTION  THROUGH  A FOSSIL  OSTEOMA 

Magnified  drawing  (X8)  of  a sawn  section,  the  shaded  area  shown  in  “d,” 
Plate  XL VIII.  The  osteoma  which  lies  at  the  top  of  the  drawdng  is  seen  to  grow  out 
of  the  body  of  the  vertebra  and  grow  backward  along  the  vertebra.  The  line  of 
demarkation  is  clearly  evident. 


DEFORMING  ARTHRITIDES 


215 


PLATE  XLI 


216 


PALEOPATHOLOGY 


* PLATE  XLI 

MULTIPLE  ARTHRITIS 

a.  Diseased  (below)  and  normal  (above)  metatarsals  of  a Kansas  Cretaceous 
mosasaur.  The  diseased  bone  is  notably  shortened,  flattened  and  broadened,  with 
deforming  arthritic  lesions,  carious  roughening  and  a large  terminal  necrotic  | 
sinus.  Originals  in  the  Kansas  University  Museum  of  Natural  History.  Enlarged. 

b.  Terminal  phalanges  of  big  toe  of  a mosasaur,  Platecarpus,  from  the  Creta- 
ceous of  Kansas,  showing  in  a slightly  enlarged  view  the  nature  of  the  arthritic 
lesions.  Original  in  the  Kansas  University  Museum  of  Natural  History. 

c.  Multiple  arthritis  in  the  phalanges  of  a large  swimming  reptile,  a mosasaur 
known  as  Platecarpus  from  the  Cretaceous  of  Kansas.  The  diseased  bones  are 
arranged  around  a normal  metatarsal. 


Plate  XLI 


DEFORMING  ARTHRITIDES 


217 


:V''v^  .. . 


PLATE  XLII 


s?: 


'■'I?'  • ' 


5'; 


Ir"-’ 


'•  'ii»' 


218 


PALEOPA THOLOGY 


PLATE  XLIl 

PLEISTOCENE  PATHOLOGY 

a.  Diseased  vertebra  of  Smilodon,  from  the  Pleistocene  deposits  of  California. 

b.  Osteomyelitis  in  the  ulna  of  an  American  Bison,  from  the  plains  of  Kansas, 
showing  near  the  middle  of  the  picture  the  junction  of  normal  and  pathologic  bone. 
X 100. 

c.  Haversian  canals  in  pathologic  bone,  showing  in  vertebra  at  “d,”  in  lesion 
of  spondylitis  deformans.  X 200. 

d.  Vertebra  of  saber  tooth  cat  showing  marginal  lipping  of  spondylitis  defor- 
mans. Pleistocene  of  California.  See  also  Plate  XLIII,  d. 


Plate  XLII 


DEFORMING  ARTHRITIDES 


219 


PLATE  XLIII 


220 


PALEOPATHOLOGY 


PLATE  XLin 

HISTORY  OF  SPONDYLITIS  DEFORMANS 

a.  Spondylitis  deformans  in  a recent  human  lumbar  vertebra. 

b.  Spondylitis  deformans  in  a lumbar  vertebra  of  an  ancient  Eg>’ptian,  about 
5,000  years  old.  (After  Ruffer.) 

c.  Posterior  view  of  a dorsal  vertebra  of  a cave  bear,  Ursus  spelaeus,  from  Eur- 
ope, showing  lesion  of  spondylitis  deformans.  Possibly  250,000  years  old.  (After 
Mayer.) 

d.  Lateral  view  of  a dorsal  vertebra  of  a saber-tooth  cat,  Smilodon,  from  the 
Rancho  la  Brea,  Pleistocene,  asphalt  beds,  of  California,  showing  characteristic 
lesions  of  spondylitis  deformans. 

These  four  figures  show  the  characteristic  lesions  of  this  form  of  arthritis  at 
different  periods  of  the  history  of  man  and  animals,  covering  approximate!}’  one- 
half  a million  years.  So  far  as  external  appearances  go  there  have  been  no  changes 
since  early  Pleistocene  at  least.  Similar  lesions  of  greater  antiquity  have  also  been 
seen. 


Plate  XLIII 


CHAPTER  VI 


CARIES  AND  ALVEOLAR  OSTEITIS  AMONG  FOSSIL 
VERTEBRATES 

Caries  in  Permian  vertebrates.  Dental  disturbances  among  extinct  reptiles  and  mam- 
mals. Caries  in  the  Mastodon.  An  abscess  in  the  Mastodon.  Dental  caries  in  the  Masto- 
don. Premaxillary  lesion  in  an  African  gorilla.  Descriptions  of  Figures  19-22  and  Plates 
XLIV-XLVI  illustrating  Chapter  VI.  Figures  19-22  and  Plates  XLIV-XLVI. 

Diseases  of  the  teeth  and  alveolae,  as  well  as  carious  lesions  of  the 
skeleton,  are  fairly  common  among  fossil  vertebrates,  being  known  in 
nearly  every  geological  period  from  the  Permian  to  the  Recent.  Ren- 
ault has  discussed  caries  of  bones,  scales,  and  teeth  among  the  fish  of 
the  Permian  of  France,  basing  his  observations  on  materials  from 
coprolites  of  the  Autun  basin.  A large  marine  reptile,  one  of  the  Creta- 
ceous mosasaurs  of  Belgium,  shows  in  the  left  mandibular  ramus  ex- 
tensive evidences  of  this  form  of  pathology.  The  mandible  of  a 
three-toed  horse,  Mery  chip  pus  campestris,  shows  possible  evidences  of 
the  ravages  of  actinomycosis,  as  well  as  an  alveolar  osteitis  which  has 
resulted  in  the  absorption  of  the  alveolar  margins  and  the  exposure  of 
the  roots  of  the  teeth;  a result  today  in  cases  of  pyorrhea.  Caries  has 
been  noted  by  Leidy  and  Hermann  in  the  Pleistocene  elephants.  An 
alveolar  disturbance  in  the  Cohoes  mastodon  was  noted  by  Hall. 
The  early  cave  bears  of  Europe  and  many  other  fossil  vertebrates  show 
ravages  of  these  two  types  of  pathology.  Teeth  of  primates  from  the 
Bridger  Eocene  of  Wyoming  are  said  to  show  dental  disturbances. 
The  early  races  of  man  were  singularly  free  from  these  two  diseases,  al- 
though alveolar  fistulae  are  evident  in  ancient  human  remains  from 
England. 

The  nature  and  distribution  of  dental  defects  in  ancient  man, 
from  an  anthropological  viewpoint,  have  been  interestingly  discussed 
by  Lenhossek,^  who  reviews  the  evidences  of  disease  but  does  not 
give  any  detailed  account  of  the  structure  of  the  pathological  lesions, 
and  he  deals  with  other  pathology  than  that  of  caries.  Cotte,^®  also, 

*M.  V.  Lenhossek:  Die  Zabnkaries  einst  und  jetzt.  Archiv  fiir  Anthropologic.  N.  F. 
Bd.  xvii,  44-66,  5 figs.  1919. 

Ch.  Cotte;  La  carie  dentaire  et  I’alimentation  dans  la  provence  prehistorique.  L’hom- 
tne  prehistorique.  3e  annee,  1905,  75. 


221 


222 


PALEOPATHOLOGY 


has  discussed  the  question  of  dental  caries  in  prehistoric  times.  The 
entire  subject  of  Paleolithic  and  Neolithic  evidences,  however,  needs 
to  be  restudied  and  more  adequately  discussed  from  the  viewpoint 
of  pathology.  Puffer  (1920)  has  presented  the  most  adequate  study  of 
this  phase  of  paleopathology,  restricting  his  observations  to  the  lesions 
seen  on  the  remains  of  ancient  Egyptians. 

The  oldest  indication  of  caries  is  that  described  by  RenaulP*’  from 
Permian  material.  His  results  are  in  Chapter  IX,  in  connection  with 
the  account  of  fossil  bacteria. 

I have  stated  elsewhere  that  caries  of  the  teeth  is  fairly  common 
among  fossil  vertebrates,  yet  a more  careful  investigation  into  the 
matter  reveals  the  interesting  fact  that  it  seems  to  be  the  rarest  form  of 
pathology  in  ancient  times.  It  is  true  that  Dollo  in  the  mosasaurs, 
Renault  in  fishes  and  Leidy  and  Hermann  in  the  Mastodon,  have 
described  undoubted  examples  of  dental  caries,  yet  it  seems  not  to  be 
common.  Experienced  collectors  of  fossil  mammals  have  never  seen 
a carious  tooth.  Dentinal  tubules  in  sections  of  a tusk  of  Mastodon 
obscurus  seem  to  be  filled  with  bacteria  and  there  are  undoubted  ca- 
rious spots  on  the  edge  of  the  dentine. 

CARIES  IN  PERMIAN  VERTEBRATES 

Since  this  subject  is  dealt  with  at  some  length  in  Chapter  IX,  under 
the  heading  “Fossil  Bacteria  analogous  to  those  which  produce  dental 
Caries”  where  is  given  a careful  account  of  Renault’s  studies,  the  reader 
is  referred  to  that  section  for  a discussion  of  the  subject.  No  new  ob- 
servations have  been  made  since  Renault  wrote. 

DENTAL  DISTURBANCES  AMONG  EXTINCT  REPTILES  AND  MAMMALS 

There  have  not  been  described  from  American  deposits  any  ex- 
amples of  dental  caries  among  fossil  reptiles,  so  far  as  I can  learn. 
Abel  (1912,  p.  95)  says  Dollo  has  described  an  example  of  dental  caries 
in  the  lower  jaw  of  an  extinct,  Cretaceous,  swimming  reptile,  Mosasaii- 
rus,  No.  1503  of  the  Brussels  Museum.  The  same  jaw  shows  also  alveo- 
lar changes  indicating  p3'Orrhea.  It  is  interesting  to  observe  that  dental 
disturbances  and  rheumatism  were  present  among  Cretaceous  animals, 
millions  of  years  ago,  lending  some  favor  to  the  present  theory  of  focal 
infections,  though  of  course  our  knowledge  of  such  Cretaceous  path- 
ology is  too  uncertain  to  be  of  great  value.  The  above-mentioned 
mosasaur  is  the  only  example  of  dental  caries  of  which  I can  learn 

'•’Bernard  Renault:  Sur  quelques  Microorganismes  des  Combustibles  fossiles.  1900, 
pp.  316-323. 


CARIES  AND  ALVEOLAR  OSTEITIS 


223 


imong  extinct  reptiles.  There  are  undoubtedly  more  such  cases  and 
uture  observations  will  serve  to  complete  our  knowledge  of  the  history 
)f  this  disease. 

Among  other  vertebrates  dental  caries  has  been  observed  in  cave- 
)ears.  An  alveolar  fistula  is  referred  to  by  Abel  (1912)  as  occurring  in 
he  right  premaxillary  in  the  skull  of  a mammal,  Eosiren  libyca  Andrews 
yhich  has  produced  some  pathological  changes  in  the  bone.  The  original 
)f  this  is  in  the  museum  at  Munich  and  was  collected  by  Professor 
1.  von  Stromer.  I have  seen  an  incisor  of  a camel  (Figure  22)  from 
he  Pliocene,  Snake  Creek  Beds,  of  Nebraska,  which  appears  to  show 
avages  of  dental  caries  but  it  is  uncertain  whether  it  is  not  due  to 
,ome  other  cause.  The  root  of  the  tooth  has  several  excrescences 
)f  osteodentine,  similar  to  those  figured  on  the  whale’s  tooth. 

An  Eocene  mammal,  Phenacodus  primaevus,  a primitive  ungulate, 
;ollected  on  the  Gray  Bull  Creek,  Wasatch  Eocene  of  Wyoming, 
'lo.  15274,  American  Museum  of  Natural  History,  shows  an  acces- 
ory  cusp  on  the  second  lower  molar  on  the  lingual  surface  of  the  left  side. 

The  lower  jaw  of  Megalohyrax,  from  the  Fayum  of  Egypt,  No.  14460, 
American  Museum  of  Natural  History,  shows  an  anomaly  in  the  trans- 
verse placing  of  the  fourth  premolar,  which  is  bilaterally  symmetrical. 
The  position  is  probably  due  to  mechanical  compression  of  adjacent 
:eeth  since  these  teeth  are  the  last  to  be  erupted. 

In  the  Princeton  Museum  is  a small  marsupial  from  Patagonia  show- 
ng  injury  to  the  canine,  with  extraction  of  tooth  and  ingrowth  of  bone 
)ver  the  alveolus. 

A Miocene  rhinoceros  tooth  from  Nebraska  exhibits  a peculiar 
orm,  probably  due  to  the  fact  that  it  was  crowded  in  the  jaw  and  may 
lot  have  erupted. 

A Pleistocene  mammoth  molar,  in  the  University  of  Kansas, 
presents  an  interesting  form  of  disturbance.  It  is  bent  almost  into 
i semicircle,  though  otherwise  normal.  ' 

The  above  references  are  mere  notes  on  the  occurrence  of  dental 
listurbances  and  serve  only  as  an  introduction  to  the  subject.  It  is 
veil  worthy  of  a special  study  by  some  one  who  is  acquainted  with 
lental  anatomy. 

The  only  remaining  example,  known  to  me,  is  interesting  from 
he  standpoint  of  alveolar  osteitis,  there  being  no  changes  in  the  teeth 
hemselves,  save  those  due  to  the  exposure  of  their  roots  by  the  absorp- 
ion  of  the  alveolar  processes.  This  example  is  the  lower  jaw  of  a 
ossil  horse,  Merychippus  campestris  (Plate  XLIV).  The  osteitis  in- 


224 


PALEOPATHOLOGY 


dicates  the  ravages  of  pyorrhea.  In  an  earlier  discussion  I figured 
one  of  the  teeth  of  this  species  as  being  carious,  but  more  careful 
examination  of  the  specimen  reveals  the  fact  that  the  supposedly  cari- 
ous spot  is  a post-fossilization  fracture. 

CARIES  IN  THE  MASTODON 

An  example  of  caries  has  been  described  in  a mastodon  tooth 
from  the  Pleistocene  of  Florida.  Leidy^  in  1886  directed  the  attention 
of  the  members  of  the  Philadelphia  Academy  of  Science  to  a specimen 
consisting  of  the  posterior  portion  of  a last  upper  molar  tooth  of  a 
Mastodon,  which  he  had  attributed  to  a species  under  the  name  M. 
floridanus.  It  is  remarkable  from  the  circumstance  that  it  apparently 
exhibits  the  result  of  caries,  a condition  which  Leidy  had  never  pre- 
viously observed  in  extinct  animals,  although  he  had  seen,  studied, 
and  described  many  thousands  of  specimens.  The  supposed  caries 
appears  as  an  irregular  excavation  immediately  above  the  crown 
of  the  tooth,  about  a quarter  of  an  inch  in  depth.  The  mouth  of  the 
cavity  is  elliptical,  extending  one  and  one-fourth  inches  transversely, 
and  one-fourth  of  an  inch  vertically.  The  surface  of  the  cavity  was 
irregularly  eroded. 


AN  ABSCESS  IN  THE  MASTODON 

The  famous  Cohoes  Mastodon,  mounted  in  the  State  Museum  of 
New  York,  Albany,  exhibits  a pathological  condition  in  the  right  ramus 
of  the  mandible,®  which  carried  but  a single  tooth. 

On  the  outer  surface  of  the  right  ramus  beneath  the  coronoid  process,  there  is 
a perforation  in  the  bone  of  one  tenth  of  an  inch  in  diameter  and  which  can  be 
penetrated  to  the  depth  of  two  inches.  The  portion  of  bone  surrounding  this  open- 
ing is  corrugated,  as  if  ossified  from  several  centers  or  nuclei,  the  laminae  presenting 
an  irregular  concentric  arrangement.  From  the  position  and  appearance  of  this 
opening  it  is  quite  natural  to  infer  that  there  had  been  an  abscess  in  that  jaw,  or 
disease  and  decomposition  of  the  undeveloped  sixth  molar. 

'Joseph  Leidy,  an  eminent  American  paleontologist,  biologist,  and  anatomist,  1823- 
1891.  He  was  one  of  the  early  students  in  the  field  of  American  vertebrate  paleontology  in 
which  he  attained  great  distinction.  He  is  the  author  of  numerous  large  memoirs  on  the  pal- 
eontology of  the  vertebrates:  The  Ancient  Fauna  of  Nebraska  or  a Description  of  Remains  of 
Extinct  Mammalia  and  Ckelonia,  Washington,  1852;  The  Extinct  Mamtnalian  Fauna  of  Dakota 
and  Nebraska,  Including  an  Account  of  Some  Allied  Forms  from  Other  Localities,  together  'with  a 
Synopsis  of  the  Mammalian  Remains  of  North  America,  Philadelphia,  1869;  Contribulwns  to 
the  Extinct  Vertebrate  Fauna  of  the  Western  Territories,  Washington,  1873. 

® James  Hall:  Notes  and  Obser\-ations  on  the  Cohoes  Mastodon.  21st  .Ann.  Rpt.  of  the 
Regents  of  the  Univ.  of  the  State  of  N.  Y.,  on  the  Condition  of  the  State  Cabinet  of  Nat  l 
Hist.,  Albany,  1871,  99-148,  7 pis,  Pathologic  mandible  figured  on  Plate  7. 


CARIES  AND  ALVEOLAR  OSTEITIS 


225 


\ section  was  later  made  of  the  jaw  which  corroborated  this  supposi- 
don,  altho  the  opening  was  not  so  large  as  had  been  expected,  possibly- 
indicating  that  the  disease  had  occurred  during  early  hfe.  The  failure 
)f  the  posterior  right  molar  to  develop  affected  the  symmetry  of  the 
Ijntire  head,  and  the  face  of  the  creature  is  decidedly  asymmetrical. 

DENTAL  CARIES  IN  THE  MASTODON^ 

I Defects  of  the  teeth  are  seldom  found  among  fossils  and  are  rare 
in  living  animals.  Geologically,  the  oldest  defects  are  those  parasitic 
borings  which  are  found,  according  to  Rothpletz,  in  the  so-called 
Conodonts  which  are  calcareous  cuticular  teeth  of  Silurian  worms  {Dre- 
panodus  Pander)  from  the  lower  Silurian  of  the  Russian  Baltic  Province. 
The  researches  of  Rohan  and  Zittel  on  Conodonts  revealed  these  pas- 
sages in  thin  sections  of  the  teeth.  Of  additional  interest  in  this  con- 
nection is  Jaekel’s  discovery  of  thread  mould  (Mycelites  ossijragus 
Roux)  in  the  dentine  of  rostral  teeth  of  Pristiophorus  suevicus  Jaekel 
from  the  Miocene  of  Baltringen  as  well  as  in  the  dental  substance  of 
other  Selachia  from  the  Tertiary,  Upper  Cretaceous  and  Jurassic.  Other 
little  known  defects  owe  their  origin  to  mechanical  causes  and  Virchow 
has  described  such  cavities  in  the  canine  teeth  of  two  anthropoids, 
an  orang-utan,  and  a chimpanzee. 

At  the  meeting  of  the  Naturalists’  Society  in  Berlin  Hermann 
,had  the  good  fortune  to  submit  a great  number  of  defective  teeth  from 
certain  collections  in  Berlin.  These  were  deformed  partly  by  abrasion, 
partly  by  fracture,  and  some  of  them  showed  an  opening  into  the  pulp 
cavity. 

Of  the  fishes,  the  Jurassic  and  Tertiary  Pycnodonts  were  discussed 
as  well  as  mammals  (with  the  exception  of  the  domestic  and  menagerie 
■animals),  the  genera  Hyaena,  Meles,  Ursus,  (by  reference  to  recent  and 
.fossil  species)  Cervus  and  the  anthropomorphs  (by  reference  to  Simla 
satyrus  L.,  Gorilla  gorilla  Wyman  and  Anthropopithecus  troglodytes 
Bloch). 

The  question  was  also  brought  up  as  to  whether  carious  defects 
could  be  detected,  although  no  undoubted  carious  defects  have  been 

^ Observations  on  this  subject,  discussed  in  this  section,  are  given  here  as  a free  transla- 
tion of  a paper  by  Rudolf  Hermann  (1908).  His  contributions  to  this  subject  are: 

Rudolf  Hermann;  1907a — Ueber  das  Vorkommen  hohler  Zaehne  bei  fossUen  und  leben- 
den  Tieren.  Sitzb.  d.  GeseU.  naturf.  Freunde  zu  Berlin,  Jahrg.,  1907,  195-201.  1907b — 
Weitere  Beobachtungen  ueber  Zahndefekte  bei  fossUen  und  lebenden  Tieren.  Ibid.,  284-287. 
1908 — Caries  bei  Mastodon  (Pleistocene  of  Ohio)  Anatom.  Anz.,  xxxii,  no.  13,  305-313,  pi. 
and  figs. 


226 


PALEOPATHOLOGY 


found  among  living  wild  animals.  Yet  the  possibility  of  such  an  occur- 
rence is  evident  from  the  standpoint  of  veterinary  medicine. 

The  question  brought  up  at  this  discussion  as  to  whether  tooth- 
defects  occurred  among  living  wild  animals,  had  an  unexpected  result 
a few  weeks  later.  Dr.  Stremme  found,  through  an  examination  of  a 
collection  of  mammals,  a tooth  of  Mastodon  americanus  Cuv.  from  the 
Pleistocene  of  Ohio  in  North  America. 

This  tooth,  the  second  last  molar  of  the  left  lower  jaw,  exhibits 
upon  the  chewing  surface  and  on  the  lateral  side  a defect  which  can  only 
be  due  to  caries.  The  tooth  has  a greatest  length  of  12  cm.  and  is 
about  as  high.  Of  the  three  arches,  the  anterior  is  provided  with  a 
cavity,  which  is  transversely  placed.  The  second  arch  shows  two 
smaller  cavities,  which  are  connected  in  the  middle  of  the  tooth  with 
each  other  and  with  the  cavity  of  the  first  arch.  A third  cavity  is 
found  in  the  second  part.  It  was  formerly  bounded  by  a bridge,  a 
millimeter  thick,  which  binds  the  two  cusps  of  the  second  arch  as  well 
as  the  inner  wall  of  the  third  arch,  into  which  it  had  eaten  out  a cavity. 
On  the  inner  cusp  of  the  third  arch  is  the  beginning  of  a fourth  defect, 
in  a small  fossa,  obhquely  oval. 

If  we  compare  this  tooth  with  a sound  one,  we  would  notice  that 
in  contrast  to  the  normal  chewing  surfaces,  the  foremost  arch,  espe- 
cially on  the  inner  cqsp,  is  less  strong  than  the  following  arch.  The 
falling  off  of  the  chewing  surface  from  the  front  to  the  back  causes  one 
to  believe  at  first  that  the  matter  in  question  was  a tooth  of  the  right 
lower  jaw. 

A more  careful  comparison  of  teeth  embedded  in  the  jaw  of  an 
American  Mastodon  reveals  that  the  tooth  in  question  belongs  to  the 
left  lower  jaw.  A more  exact  comparison  of  the  twm  teeth  shows  a 
common  increase  in  chewing  surface  of  the  buccal  surface.  To  the  in- 
crease of  the  chewing  surface  in  a lingual  direction  on  the  teeth  of  the 
lower  jaw,  there  is  a corresponding  increase  in  the  upper  jaw  tow’ard  the 
cheek;  therefore,  it  is  not  a consequent  of  the  stronger  che'ndng,  but 
rather  the  cause  of  it. 

In  regard  to  this,  there  are  particularly  important  differences  to  be 
noticed.  On  the  foremost  arch  of  the  diseased  tooth  is  shown,  as 
already  e.xplained  for  the  inner  cusp,  only  very  slight  traces  of  attrition, 
while  it  had  already  made  further  progress  on  the  sound  tooth.  The 
outer  cusp,  however,  is  alike  in  both  strongly  abraded.  The  second 
arch  is  also  almost  equally  wmrn  on  both  teeth.  The  second  inner 
cusp  of  the  diseased  tooth  shows  only  a quadrangular  depression,  which 


CARIES  AND  ALVEOLAR  OSTEITIS 


227 


in  contradistinction  to  the  sharp  angular  carious  defect,  is  bounded 
by  rounded  nodes. 

The  third  arch  is  strongly  abraded  on  the  diseased  tooth,  while  on 
the  sound  tooth  only  one  weak  abrasion  of  the  outer  cusp  is  visible. 
The  talon-like  process  on  the  distal  end  of  the  sound  tooth  is  almost 
entirely  missing  from  the  diseased  tooth.  It  is  here  disturbed  through 
the  hollowing  of  the  distal  surface  by  the  further  progress  of  the  carious 
necrosis.  That  the  fractures  on  both  teeth  are  secondary  appearances, 
which  originate  from  the  drying  of  the  teeth  in  the  air,  I need  not  con- 
sider. In  Mastodon  aniericanus  Cuv.  and  a few  related  species,  there 
is  such  a variation  in  the  number  of  the  teeth  that  the  deciduous 
molars  become  pushed  off  by  the  protruding  back  molars  and  fall  out 
so  that  only  three  molars  are  being  used  in  chewing. 

The  teeth  were  gradually  abraded  down  to  the  neck  of  the  tooth 
and  I have  examined  many  jaws  in  which  only  fragments  of  the  first 
molars  were  present,  while  the  alveolae  in  the  anterior  part  are  almost 
entirely  filled  up.  In  connection  with  the  acquisition  of  permanent 
teeth,  it  is  to  be  noticed  that  the  degree  of  attrition  increases  strongly 
antero-posteriorly,  that  though  the  small  foremost  part  of  the  tooth 
had  already  been  in  use  for  some  time,  the  posterior  part  is  used  first. 

If  the  manner  of  attrition  varies  from  this  rule  so  far  as  the  tooth 
before  us  is  concerned,  then  it  is  to  be  explained  on  the  simplest  basis 
of  the  form  of  its  opposite  tooth.  One  could  also  think  that  our 
Mastodon  on  that  account  suffered  violent  pains. 

I might  add  that  the  opposite  tooth  showed  strong  carious  defects 
and  that  only  a slightly  abraded  first  inner  cusp  corresponded  with  the 
cavity  of  the  second  upper  molars.  The  condition  of  the  second  inner 
cusp  also  supports  this  interpretation.  The  quadrangular  cavity  which 
it  possesses,  I might  have  perceived  as  a defect  due  to  use  which  be- 
came abnormal  through  the  abnormal  form  of  its  opposite. 

The  defects  of  the  proximal  surface  make  is  probable  that  the 
neighboring  teeth.  Mi  and  M3  were  diseased,  for  it  is  hard  to  believe 
that  the  remains  of  food  by  decaying  would  not  result  in  the  extension 
of  the  cavity  into  the  neighboring  teeth. 

A microscopical  examination  of  the  Mastodon  tooth  reveals  no 
indication  of  either  Bacteria  or  pulp,  since  all  organic  substances  have 
disappeared  in  the  process  of  fossihzation.  Perhaps  the  existence  of 
Leptothrix  would  be  revealed  in  a thin  section.  In  order  not  to  harm  the 
object,  I have  refrained  from  making  a section.  At  the  same  time  the 


228 


PALEOPATHOLOGY 


invasion  of  Leptothrix  from  recent  investigations  follows  disease  of  the 
tooth  and  therefore  the  reference  to  this  fungus  is  of  consequence. 

Moreover,  I have  shown  the  tooth  to  experienced  men  for  their 
opinion.  Dr.  Ritter  of  Berlin  who  helped  me  with  my  first  investiga- 
tion on  the  occurrence  of  defects  of  the  teeth  of  fossils  and  hving 
animals,  confirmed,  as  the  other  men,  that  the  defects  of  the  Mastodon 
teeth  must  be  looked  upon  as  caries. 

Caries  in  domestic  and  menagerie  animals  has  been  long  ago  recog- 
nized. But  according  to  Magitot  and  Miller,  it  is  much  more  violent 
in  the  domestic  dog  than  in  human  races. 

For  its  occurrence  in  wild  living  animals,  I have  discovered  from 
some  very  general  statements,  which  I have  already  included  in  an- 
other place,  only  two  undoubted  cases.  One  of  them  was  discussed  in 
1891  by  Bush,  in  a discussion  “On  the  dentition  of  aquatic  mammalia.” 
In  an  underjaw  tooth  of  the  whale,  Physeter  macrocephalus  L.,  are  found 
“cavities  on  the  buccal  irregular  inner  surface  if  they  were  not  due  to 
boring  of  some  aquatic  insect  jnust  be  regarded  as  carious  cavities.” 

Miller,  whose  investigations  and  observations  on  the  parastic 
nature  of  caries,  as  I had  been  informed,  have  been  found  in  learned 
circles  to  be  generally  accepted  and  recognized,  had  removed  this  con- 
ception, because,  first,  the  cavities  in  the  whale’s  tooth  does  not  show 
any  of  the  characteristic  carious  marks,  and  secondly,  the  presence  of 
acids,  which  is  necessary  to  the  decalcification  of  the  tooth,  is  hard  to 
explain. 

The  other  case  was  described  by  Miller  in  1893.  It  is  concerned  with 
many  carious  molars  in  the  skull  of  a Manatus  senegalensis  Desm.  from 
the  collection  of  the  Berlin  Dental  Institute. 

Miller  cites  from  Brehm’s  “Tierleben”  the  observation  that  the 
Manatees  after  a time  of  rich  feeding,  which  consists  of  plants,  go  to 
sleep  in  a stream  with  the  snout  out  of  the  water.  During  the  dura- 
tion of  this  sleep,  according  to  Miller,  a fermentation  of  the  food  re- 
mains begins.  Miller  gives  the  characteristic  picture  of  a section  made 
by  him  through  a carious  Manatus  tooth,  showing  pictures  of  some 
bacteria  in  the  carious  tissue.  That  caries  also  occurs  in  wild  living 
animals  is  not  surprising  according  to  the  dominant  conception  of  the 
existence  of  this  disease.  If  certain  fruits  which  contain  acid  cause  a 
decalcification  in  the  teeth,  if  some  diseases,  as  rheumatism,  gout, 
intestinal  disease,  and  others,  disturb  the  teeth  through  an  acid  reaction 
of  the  saliva,  these  are  then  the  causes  which  can  attack  the  free  Ihing 


CARIES  AND  ALVEOLAR  OSTEITIS 


229 


mimals  just  as  well  as  domestic  animals  and  human  beings.  And  as 
50on  as  the  tooth  softens,  the  bacteria  immediately  begin  their  dissolvent 
orocess  of  necrosis,  for  they  naturally  find  their  way  into  the  mouth  of 
in  animal  just  as  easily  as  into  the  human  mouth. 

A mechanical  injury  of  the  tooth  or  an  exposure  of  the  pulp  by 
ibrasion  is  very  seldom  the  cause  of  caries.  Under  the  relatively 
'requent  cases  of  this  kind,  which  I have  seen  to  date,  are  found  none 
nrhich  have  resulted  in  caries,  although  the  injured  animal  suffered  the 
joss  of  the  tooth;  therefore,  it  appears  to  me  possible  that  the  retention 
of  unused  food  in  the  mouth  in  many  observed  cases  has  been  the  cause 
of  the  production  of  cavities,  produced  by  the  decalcification  and 
softening  of  the  tooth  substance,  even  though  the  animal  is  healthy. 

PREMAXILLARY  LESION  IN  AN  AFRICAN  GORILLA 

An  adult,  male  gorilla  skull  preserved  in  the  Field  Museum  ex- 
hibits a lesion  which  lends  some  insight  into  the  traumatic  changes 
which  take  place  among  wild  animals.  An  examination  of  this  well- 
developed  skull  indicates  that  the  right  incisors  and  canine  are  mus- 
sing and  the  alveolae  have  been  either  cut  or  bitten  off  or  absorbed. 
Possibly  some  carnivorous  animal  captured  the  gorilla,  when  young, 
md  bit  out  a piece  of  the  upper  jaw.  There  was  no  subsequent  infection, 
since  the  thin,  paper-like  conchae  of  the  nose  are  as  clear  and  free 
horn  all  osteitis  as  can  be.  The  loss  of  the  teeth,  however,  resulted 
n the  development  of  an  interesting  asymmetry  of  the  face  and  a 
narked  deflection  of  the  nasal  septum,  recalling  in  this  respect  the 
famous  Cohoes  Mastodon  referred  to  on  a preceding  page.  The 
African  gorilla  appears  to  have  been  otherwise  free  of  all  harm,  since 
:he  walls  of  the  multiple  paranasal  sinuses  show  no  effect  of  catarrh, 
which  the  deflected  median  nasal  septum  would  lead  one  to  suspect. 


t-i 

.f 

« 


i 


CARIES  AND  ALVEOLAR  OSTEITIS 


231 


DESCRIPTIONS  OF  FIGURES  19-22  AND  PLATES  XLIV-XLVI  ILLUSTRATING 

CHAPTER  VI 


ii 


I 


! 


232 


PALEOPATHOLOGY 


Figure  19 

Molar  of  a recent  horse  showing  pathological  excrescences  of  osteodentine  on  the  root. 


Figure  19 


CARIES  AND  ALVEOLAR  OSTEITIS 


233 


/*•  ..  '» 


FIGURE  20 


234 


PALEOPA  THOLOGY 


Figure  20 

Joseph  Leidy.  American  Anatomist  and  Paleontologist,  1823-1891. 


Figure  20 


CARIES  AND  ALVEOLAR  OSTEITIS 


235 


FIGURES  21-22 


236 


PALEOPA  THOLOGY 


Figure  21 

Median  Sagittal  Section  of  Whale’s  tooth  (Cachelot)  showing  pulp  stones 
and  dentine  exostoses.  Area  outlined  in  broken  lines  shown  enlarged  in  fig.  d, 
Plate  XL VI. 

Figure  22 

Incisor  of  a camel  from  the  Pliocene  of  the  Snake  Creek  beds  of  Nebraska, 
showing  in  the  cleft  in  the  dentine  a possible  instance  of  dental  caries.  There  are 
two  excrescences  of  osteodentine  on  the  root.  Specimen  loaned  by  Mr.  Harold  J. 
Cook.  Enlarged. 


Figure  22 


CARIES  AND  ALVEOLAR  OSTEITIS 


237 


PLATE  XLIV 


238 


PA  LEOPA  THOLOGY 


PLATE  XLIV 

PATHOLOGY  OF  A THREE-TOED  HORSE 

Two  views  of  the  mandible  of  a three-toed  horse,  Merychippus  campeslris, 
from  the  Miocene,  about  1,500,000  }^ears  old.  The  figures  show'  in  the  absorbed 
alveolar  margins  evidences  of  pyorrhea.  The  swelling  in  the  jaw,  so  evident  in  the 
lower  figure,  is  indicative  of  a fistula,  possibly  suggesting  the  presence  of  actinomy- 
cosis in  its  early  stages. 

Specimens  in  the  American  Museum  of  Natural  History.  Courtesy  of  Dr. 
W.  D.  Matthew. 


Plate  XLIV 


CARIES  AND  ALVEOLAR  OSTEITIS 


PLATE  XLV 


240 


PALEOPATHOLOGY 


PLATE  XLV 

I 

AN  ANOMALOUS  MASTODON  MOLAR  j 

Various  teeth  of  the  Mastodon  from  the  Pleistocene  of  North  America,  pre- 
served in  the  U.  S.  National  Museum.  An  anomalous  molar,  showm  in  the  lower] 
left  hand  corner,  is  compared  with  normal  teeth.  Reduced. 


Plate  XLV 


CARIES  AND  ALVEOLAR  OSTEITIS 


PLATE  XL VI 


ffr' ' 'i 


wm^-. 


242 


PALEOPATHOLOGY 


PLATE  XLVI 
PATHOLOGY  OF  TEETH 

a.  Median  sagittal  section  of  a recent  elephant  tusk  showing  a lesion,  possibly 
an  odontoma  in  the  basal  portion.  Wistar  Institute  Museum.  Photo  by  Dr.  C.  H. 
Heuser. 

h.  Diseased  tooth  of  cachelot  whale  with  exostoses  of  dentine;  pulp  cavity 
filled  with  osteodentine.  Such  exostoses  are  commonly  seen  on  the  roots  of  cache- 
lot  whales  and  the  present  case  is  merely  an  exaggerated  instance  of  a common 
occurrence  among  toothed  whales.  Recent.  Specimen  presented  by  Dr.  J.  M. 
Clarke,  New  York  State  Museum. 

c.  An  odontoblast  in  the  root  of  a human  tooth.  Normal,  200. 

d.  Photomicrograph  of  area  of  exostosis  outlined  in  Figure  21,  of  whale’s 
tooth,  showing  arrangement  of  layers  of  dentine.  X 100. 

Figures  a and  b are  mounted  with  the  crowns  of  the  teeth  downward  to  call 
attention  more  prominently  to  their  pathology. 


Plate  XLVI 


. CHAPTER  VII 


CHRONIC  INFECTIONS  AMONG  FOSSIL  VERTEBRATES 

Osteomyelitis  in  the  Permian.  Necroses  and  hyperostoses  in  the  dinosaurs.  A large 
necrotic  sinus  in  a mosasaur.  A symmetrical  lesion  in  an  early  dog.  Mesozoic  pathology. 
Actinomycosis  in  a fossil  rhinoceros.  H>p>erostoses  or  pachyostoses  (Giantism)  in  ancient 
animals.  Osteomalacia  in  an  Eocene  carnivore.  Traumatic  lesions  and  other  pathology 
of  the  Pleistocene  mammals.  Skeletal  anomalies  among  fossil  vertebrates.  Descriptions  of 
Figures  23-25  and  Plates  XLVII-LVIII  illustrating  Chapter  VII.  Figures  23-25  and 
Plates  XLVII-LVIII. 

The  lesions  discussed  in  this  chapter  are  of  a miscellaneous  charac- 
ter; necroses,  exostoses,  osteomyelitis,  osteomalacia  and  other  patholog- 
ical results  which  are  difi&cult  to  classify.  Dental  caries  because  of 
its  rather  special  character  is  assigned  to  Chapter  VI.  Many  chronic 
infections  are  definitely  related  to  fractures  and  other  traumatisms 
and  many  are  discussed  in  Chapter  IV.  Spondylitis  deformans  is  a 
special  chronic  affair  which  can  readily  be  discussed  with  other  de- 
forming arthritides,  but  there  still  remain  sufficient  unclassified  material 
for  a special  section.  The  lesions  discussed  in  this  chapter  serve  to  show 
the  great  age  of  the  types  of  pathological  processes  which  they  repre- 
sent. They  are  not  all  assuredly  infections  of  a bacterial  nature,  some 
of  them  being  due  to  chronic  irritations  of  another  nature.  The  sup- 
posed example  of  actinomycosis  in  a fossil  rhinoceros  is  due  to  infections 
of  the  ray-fungus  and  some  of  the  lesions  may  be  due  to  other  forms  of 
parasitism. 

Necrotic  processes  are  first  evident  among  fossil  vertebrates  in  the 
Permian  long-spined  reptile  (Plate  XV,  a),  in  a Triassic  phytosaur  and 
in  a Jurassic  crocodile  (Plate  X,  c and  d).  Necrotic  sinuses  are  abun- 
dant among  the  fossil  vertebrates  from  the  Cretaceous  and  fairly  com- 
mon throughout  the  Tertiary,  reaching  a climax,  so  far  as  extinct 
animals  are  concerned,  in  the  Pleistocene.  This  is  due,  not  to  any 
actual  increase  of  disease  during  the  later  Tertiary  perhaps,  but  to  the 
fact  that  we  know  the  Pleistocene  vertebrates  better.  The  graph 
(Figure  2)  shows  our  knowledge  of  this  condition  and  may  not  represent 
the  actual  state  of  affairs. 

Exostoses,  of  course,  often  accompany  necrotic  processes  as  well 
as  other  forms  of  pathology,  but  in  this  chapter  will  be  discussed  those 


243 


244 


PALEOPATHOLOGY 


special  types  of  exostoses  which  accompany  no  known  pathology  and 
whose  origin  is  obscure,  as  in  the  case  of  the  Triceratops  scapula, 
(Plate  L,  b-c). 

OSTEOMYELITIS  IN  THE  PERMIAN 

The  evidence  regarded  as  osteomyelitis  in  the  remains  of  a Permian 
reptile  from  Texas  is  based  on  a large  tumified  vertebral  spine  (Plate 
XV,  a and  XXI) . It  is  alv/ays  an  interesting  matter  to  be  able  to  call 
attention  to  the  earliest  appearance  in  geological  time  of  any  phenom- 
enon of  nature  which  is  common  at  the  present  time.  It  is  especially 
important  in  ancient  pathology  to  point  out  the  similarity  in  form  of 
the  results  of  infective  processes  of  ancient  times  with  those  of  recent 
epochs.  It  is  evident  that  the  results  of  pathological  processes  have 
undergone  no  particular  evolutionary  change  and  one  untrained  in  the 
study  of  fossil  objects  is  able  to  recognize  an  example  of  osteomyelitis 
from  the  Permian  if  he  is  acquainted  with  modern  pathology. 

The  specimen  which  shows  this  interesting  phase  of  patholog)^  is  a 
posterior  dorsal  spine  of  a reptile  of  the  Edaphosaurus  t>q)e  (Plate 
XIV,  a)  and  was  collected  in  the  Red  Beds  of  Texas  by  Mr.  Paul  C. 
Miller  of  the  University  of  Chicago.  The  spine  had  been  fractured 
near  its  base  (shown  at  the  point  of  the  arrow,  Plate  XV,  a)  in  a com- 
pound transverse  break,  the  line  of  which  is  still  e\ddent.  An  infection 
ensued  because  of  the  breaking  of  the  skin,  although  the  line  is  a simple, 
direct  fracture,  which  developed  into  a chronic  osteomyehtis,  which 
became  entirely  healed  before  the  death  of  the  animal  since  there  is  no 
evidence  of  a discharging  channel  and  the  sequestrum  is  not  evident 
(Plate  XXI).  This  produced  in  the  shaft  of  the  bone  a sinus-fiUed 
tumefaction  which  is  today  so  characteristic  of  chronic  osteomyelitis. 

The  presence  of  these  sinuses,  which  during  life  were  doubtless 
filled  with  pus  though  the  discharge  had  ceased  long  before  death, 
argues  for  the  presence  of  infective  bacteria  during  the  Permian  such 
as  have  been  demonstrated  by  the  magnificent  researches  of  Renault 
in  the  Paleozoic  of  France.  Search  through  four  microscopic  trans- 
verse sections,  taken  at  different  levels,  (Plate  XXI)  revealed  bacteria 
in  the  enlarged  canaliculi  but  there  is  considerable  doubt  as  to  their 
being  of  an  infective  nature,  being  more  properly  regarded  as  those  of 
decay.  These  bacteria  are  more  fully  discussed  in  Chapter  IX,  under 
the  heading,  “Bacteria  in  the  American  Permian.” 

This  spine  of  a Permian  reptile  is  the  oldest  known  vertebrate  fossil 
showing  the  results  of  infection,  which  has  been  seen  or  described,  as  it 


CHRONIC  INFECTIONS 


245 


is  likewise  the  oldest  known  example  of  osteomyelitis.  These  state- 
ments apply  only  to  fossil  vertebrates  for  I have  not  sufficient  knowl- 
edge of  invertebrate  forms  to  make  a sweeping  statement  concerning  all 
fossil  animals,  but  so  far  as  my  studies  go  I have  seen  no  example  of 
bacterial  infection  during  the  hfe  of  any  Paleozoic  species  older  than 
the  Permian  reptile  to  which  this  spine  belongs.  This  of  course  brings 
up  the  question  of  the  existence  of  a mild  form  of  pathology  during 
the  early  geological  periods.  The  entire  problem  of  early  pathology  is, 
however,  still  an  open  one  and  hasty  conclusions  must  not  be  made  on 
insufficient  data. 

NECROSES  AND  HYPEROSTOSES  IN  THE  DINOSAURS 

An  interesting  example  of  traumatic  necrosis  is  seen  in  the  ilium 
of  a large  dinosaur  (Plate  L,  a),  Camptosaurus,  the  skeleton  of  which 
is  mounted  in  the  U.  S.  National  Museum  and  has  been  described  by 
Gilmore,  (1909,  1912).  The  injury  is  on  the  posterior  end  of  the  right 
ilium  and  has  resulted  in  a deep  necrotic  sinus,  accompanied  by  con- 
siderable hypertrophy  of  bone,  as  is  the  case  in  modern  chronic  infec- 
tions. It  is  useless  to  speculate  as  to  how  the  injury  may  have  been 
ireceived.  Abel  has  suggested  that  the  specimen  represents  a female  and 
the  injury  was  received  during  the  breeding  season,  but  it  might  easily 
have  been  due  to  another  cause.  (Figure  23.) 

One  of  the  most  exaggerated  cases  of  hyperostosis  seen  among  the 
linosaurs  is  that  noted  in  the  scapula  of  Triceratops,  one  of  the  three- 
horned dinosaurs  from  the  Cretaceous  of  Wyoming.  The  hook-like 
esion  (Plate  L,  b)  is  situated  on  the  broad  visceral  surface  of  the  bone 
ind  there  is  no  evidence  of  infection,  but  doubtless  some  chronic 
rritation  produced  the  lesion.  The  visceral  surface  in  these  animals 
,s  normally  perfectly  smooth,  since  it  slides  over  the  ribs  in  walking, 
jit  is  difficult  to  see  how  the  animal  could  have  moved  about  much 
lince  the  process  is  long  enough  to  have  produced  laceration  of  the 
)leura.  Similar  lesions  are  seen  on  modern  human  bone,  and  one  is 
igured  (Plate  LII,  b)  on  a femur.  This  lesion,  however,  was  deeply 
;overed  by  muscles  and  save  in  form  does  not  compare  with  the  cruel, 
look-shaped  process  of  the  dinosaur  scapula. 

Other  pathological  lesions  seen  on  dinosaur  skeletons  are  described 
n Chapters  IV  and  V. 

The  huge  glyptodonts  of  the  Pliocene  and  Pleistocene  of  South 
America,  in  spite  of  their  heavy  armoring  of  bone  on  skull,  body  and 
ail,  were  often  subjected  to  injuries  which  became  infected  and  pro- 


246 


PALEOPATHOLOGY 


duced  extensive  necroses  in  the  bony  carapace.  Dr.  Sinclair  of  Prince- 
ton suggested  to  me  that  these  necrotic  sinuses,  examples  of  which  are 
on  exhibition  in  the  Princeton  Museum,  were  caused  by  injuries  from 
the  saber-toothed  cat,  which  in  attacking  the  glyptodont  and  finding 
himself  baffled  by  the  heavy,  bony  carapace,  clawed  and  bit  as  best  he 
could.  If  the  giant  Pleistocene  cat’s  teeth  and  claws  were  as  septic  as 
the  modern  house  cat’s  are  said  to  be,  sepsis  may  weU  have  followed 
such  an  attack.  Similar  necrotic  sinuses  are  evident,  with  a depth  of 
nearly  an  inch,  in  the  huge  dermal  plates  of  the  giant  dinosaur.  Stego- 
saurus, which  bore  a large  erect  armament  above  his  vertebral  column. 
This  necrosis  is  undoubtedly  due  to  an  injury,  possibly  from  the  bite  of  a 
carnivorous  dinosaur.  The  specimen  of  this  plate  is  in  the  U.  S. 
National  Museum  of  Washington. 

A LARGE  NECROTIC  SINUS  IN  A MOSASAUR 
The  deep  sinus  (Plate  XLVIII,  a and  b)  seen  in  the  articular  sur- 
face of  one  of  the  arm  bones  of  a swimming  reptile,  a mosasaur,  from  the 
Cretaceous  of  Kansas,  may  possibly  be  interpreted  as  a tuberculous 
infection,  since  it  is  difficult  to  perceive  how  such  a necrosis  may  have 
been  due  to  a traumatism,  protected  as  the  surface  was  by  the  ad- 
joining bones.  To  say,  however,  that  tuberculosis  occurred  in  this 
geological  period  would  be  assuming  too  much  since  all  diagnoses  of 
fossil  lesions  must  necessarily  be  suggestive  of  a modern  condition  and 
not  a positive  diagnosis  of  the  patholog}'. 

The  mosasaurs  were  large  swimming  reptiles  (Figure  16)  and 
some  account  of  their  nature  has  already  been  given  in  Chapter  V. 
The  arm  bone  is  doubtless  a radius,  though  greatly  deformed  by 
disease.  The  necrotic  sinus  occurs  at  the  upper  pole  of  the  bone,  oc- 
cupying nearly  the  entire  articular  surface.  It  is  a deep,  irregular, 
rough-sided  pocket,  surrounded  by  a hpped  surface  indicating  the 
existence  of  an  extensive  suppuration.  The  accompanying  h}"pertrophy 
and  the  nature  of  the  sinus  are  shown  in  Plate  XLVIII,  b which  is  a 
drawing  of  a vertical  section  of  the  diseased  bone.  The  necrosis  un- 
doubtedly indicates  bacterial  acthity.  The  amount  of  osteoh}T)er- 
trophy  is  extensive,  indicated  by  the  blackened  areas  in  the  figure 
(Plate  XLVIII).  These  dense  areas  are  wanting  in  normal  bone  which 
are  usually  abundantly  vascular. 

A SYMMETRICAL  LESION  IN  AN  EARLY  DOG 
A comparison  of  the  radii  of  two  extinct  dogs,  Daphaenus  and 
Daphaenodon,  as  they  are  represented  in  the  mounted  skeletons  of  these 


CHRONIC  INFECTIONS 


247 


ossil  carnivores  in  Carnegie  Museum,  reveals  the  fact,  already  noted 
py  Hatcher  in  his  memoir  of  Oligocene  Canidae,  that  Daphaneus  dif- 
lers  greatly  from  its  forebear  in  the  possession  of  very  curious  sym- 
[netrical  lesions  on  the  fore  limb,  near  the  ends  of  the  radii.  These  bones 
in  Daphaenodon  are  smooth.  Daphaenus  felinus  the  Oligocene  dog  from 
;'febraska,  is  almost  unique  in  the  possession  of  these  tumor-like 
[nasses  (Plate  LIII,  b and  c).  Mr.  Riggs  has  shown  me  similar  lesions 
|n  the  fore-limb  of  a small  Miocene  carnivore,  but  this  example  has 
iot  been  described.  The  lesions  are  not  wholly  symmetrical  since  the 
eft  tumor-like  mass  is  nearly  twice  as  large  as  the  right.  Both  lesions 
nd  in  four  or  five  osteophytes.  The  nature  of  the  lesions  is  entirely 
iroblematical  and  no  modern  human  examples  of  such  things  have 
leen  met  with,  so  far  as  I can  learn. 


MESOZOIC  PATHOLOGY 

® The  following  brief  tabulation  of  Mesozoic  pathology  will  aid  in 
ppreciating  the  degree  of  progress  disease  had  made  at  this  time. 


I. 


[I. 

[I. 


r. 


I. 


Arthritides : 

1.  Spondylitis  deformans  (Diplodocus,  Camarasaurus,  Tyrannosaurus). 

2.  Multiple  arthritis  (Rheumatoid  in  Mosasaur). 

3.  Arthritis  deformans  (with  osteoma  and  periostitis). 

Tumors: 

4.  Osteoma  (Mosasaur). 

5.  Hsemangioma  (Apatosaurus). 

Necroses: 


6.  Necrosis  with  hyperplasia 


Jurassic  crocodile, 
Triceratops  skull, 
Camptosaurus, 
Mosasaur  radius. 


7.  Caries  in  Mosasaur. 

Hyperostoses: 

8.  Alveolar  osteitis  (Mosasaur  of  Belgium-Dollo). 

9.  Exostoses  (scapula  of  Triceratops). 

10.  Gigantism  (hyperostosis  in  Nothosaur). 

11.  Osteoperiostitis  (humerus  of  Mosasaur). 

Fractures: 

12.  Skull  in  Mystriosuchus  (Triassic). 

13.  Oblique  fracture  in  humerus  of  Hypacrosaurus  and  subperiosteal 

abscess. 

14.  Simple  fracture  in  rib  of  Dinosaur. 

15.  Fracture  (?)  of  tail,  accompanied  by  osteomyelitis. 


This  array  of  fifteen  pathological  results  is  a startling  one.  I do  not 
' y that  this  is  all  the  pathology  of  the  Mesozoic,  but  it  is  all  I have  seen 
' heard  described,  and  serves  as  a basis  for  future  knowledge.  This 
■ ray  of  diseased  members  argues  for  a long  preceding  history  of  path- 


248 


PALEOPATHOLOGY 


ology  of  which  we  are  largely  ignorant.  The  necroses  and  arthritides 
argue  for  the  presence  of  Mesozoic  pathogenic  bacteria  of  various 
types  which  are  otherwise  unknown,  although  bacteria  have  been  seen 
in  an  osteomyelitis  from  the  American  Permian. 

It  will  be  more  satisfactory  to  discuss  briefly  the  evidence  on  which 
the  above  classification  is  made; 

I.  Arthritides:  This  is  a group  term  used  to  define  all  pathological 
results  found  in  or  around  the  joint  surfaces  of  the  limbs,  vertebrae,  and 
skull.  The  lesions  are  the  result  of  a great  variety  of  diseases. 

1.  Spondylitis  deformans:  This  is  a type  of  pathology  found  around  the  ar- 
ticular surface  of  the  vertebrae.  It  is  the  result  of  inflammation  in  the  vertebral 
ligaments,  caused  either  by  infection  or  injury.  It  accompanies  Pott’s  disease 
(vertebral  tuberculosis)  and  may  cause  a complete  rigidity  of  the  spine.  Co-ossified 
vertebrae  are  often  indications  of  this  form  of  patholog}^  The  united  caudals  of 
Diplodocus  described  by  Hatcher  and  Osborn  are  clearly  examples  of  this  type. 
Other  co-ossified  vertebrae  in  the  dinosaurs  are  due  to  different  causes.  Thus  the 
co-ossified  caudals  of  Brontosaurus  mounted  in  the  Carnegie  Museum  are  not  Spondy- 
litis deformans,  but  osteomyelitis.  Spondylitis  deformans  has  a curiously  satis- 
factory geological  history,  being  known  in  the  Comanchean,  Cretaceous,  Eocene, 
Miocene,  Pliocene,  abundantly  in  the  Pleistocene,  and  very  common  in  the  Recent 
epoch. 

2.  Multiple  arthritis  (Rheumatoid):  This  form  of  pathology,  involving  the 
great  toe  of  a large  Kansas  Mosasaur,  is  the  only  fossil  example  known  to  me.  This 
is  a sort  of  Mosasaurian  gout  or  rheumatism  which  must  have  caused  the  old  fellow 
some  inconvenience. 

3.  Arthritis  deformans:  Only  two  examples  of  this  form  of  pathology  are 
known  to  me,  both  accompanying  other  pathological  lesions.  The  articular  sur- 
faces are  only  slightly  deformed. 

II.  Tumors:  These  pathological  growths,  neoplasms,  are  not  due  to  a 
definite  infection  and  arise  from  pre-existing  tissues.  Only  two  examples 
of  tumors  are  known  during  the  Mesozoic. 

4.  Osteoma:  Seen  on  the  dorsal  vertebrae  of  a Kansas  Cretaceous  Mosasaur. 
Not  to  be  confused  with  a hypapophysis,  but  is  a true  outgrowth  of  the  vertebra. 

5.  Haemangioma:  This  has  been  previously  described  and  appears  to  be  a true 
tumor.  It  occurs  between  two  caudal  vertebrae  of  a Comanchean  Dinosaur. 

III.  Necroses:  These  are  the  definite  result  of  bacterial  or  other  infec- 
tion. The  various  t}^es  can  not  be  distinguished  in  a fossil  condition. 
There  are  numerous  examples  known. 

6.  Necrosis  with  hyperplasia  is  present  in  the  ilium  of  Camptosaurus  in  the 
U.  S.  National  Museum  and  in  a Mosasaur  radius  belonging  to  the  University  of 
Kansas. 

7.  Caries  is  not  common  among  fossil  vertebrates,  although  DoUo  gives  an 
example  of  it  in  the  mosasaurs,  and  Leidy  and  Hermann  have  described  it  in  the 
American  mastodon.  I have  never  seen  an  example  of  fossil  dental  caries. 


CHRONIC  INFECTIONS 


249 


IV.  Hyperostoses:  These  are  thickenings  of  bone,  taking  the  form 
.f  outgrowths  not  classified  in  the  preceding  groups. 

I 8.  Alveolar  osteitis,  the  result  of  pyorrhea,  I have  never  seen  in  Mesozoic  fos- 
ils,  although  Dollo  has  described  it  in  a Cretaceous  Mosasaur. 

9.  Exostoses  are  fairly  common  and  assume  a variety  of  forms. 

10.  The  pathology  of  Gigantism,  or  extreme  osseous  hyperplasia,  is  suggested 
y Volz  and  Abel  as  an  explanation  of  certain  hypertrophied  Nothosaur  and  fish 
■ones. 

11.  Osteoperiostitis:  This  is  a diagnosis  assigned  as  the  cause  of  the  patho- 
bgical  excrescences  seen  in  a Cretaceous  Mosasaur  from  Kansas. 

V.  Fractures  are  of  a variet}^  of  types,  depending  on  the  situation 
ind  the  degree  of  pathology  involved. 

12.  Skull  fracture  in  the  Triassic  Mystriosuchus  reported  by  von  Huene. 
)ccurs  immediately  anterior  to  the  nares. 

13.  Oblique  fracture  with  subperiosteal  abscess  seen  in  the  humerus  of  Hypa- 
rosaurus  in  the  American  Museum.  A common  form  of  pathology  today.  The 
nidge  of  bone  present  in  the  fossil  humerus  is  due  to  an  elevation  of  the  periosteum 
)y  an  enormous  abscess  capable  of  holding  several  liters  of  fluid. 

14.  Simple  fracture,  commonest  type  of  fracture  among  fossil  animals.  An 
;xample  in  the  mounted  skeleton  of  Apatosaurus  in  Field  Museum. 

I 15.  Fracture  in  tail  of  Brontosaurus  with  osteomyelitis. 

ACTINOMYCOSIS  IN  A FOSSIL  RHINOCEROS 

The  antiquity  of  the  disease  commonly  known  as  “wooden  tongue,” 
dump-jaw”  and  other  phases  of  this  infection  is  suggested  by  the 
swelling  in  the  lower  jaw  of  a three-toed  horse,  Mery  chip  pus  campes- 
\ris  (Plate  XLIV),  from  the  Miocene.  Since  this  specimen  is  a type 
jpf  the  species  preserved  in  the  American  Museum  of  Natural  History 
internal  examination  of  the  lesion  is  not  possible.  Nor  is  it  at  all 
fcertain  that  such  an  examination  would  aid  in  a correct  diagnosis 
since  the  swelling  may  have  been  caused  by  a huge  alveolar  abscess. 
50  far  as  I am  aware  this  is  the  earliest  suggestion  of  this  form  of 
lathology  among  fossil  vertebrates  but  it  is  to  be  regarded  merely  as  a 
suggestion  of  actinomycosis  and  not  an  example  of  it. 

The  transmission  of  the  ray  fungus,  Actinomyces,  by  means  of 
straw,  chaff,  the  beards  of  rye,  wheat  and  other  grasses  through  de- 
layed teeth  to  the  alveolae,  through  the  gums  to  the  bone,  through 
she  tonsils  to  the  pharynx  and  trachea  and  to  other  parts  of  the  res- 
Diratory  tract,  is  all  well  established  and  known  through  the  re- 
searches of  many  investigators.^  I have  seen  sections  from  the  tonsil 

' M.  Schlegel,  1913.  Aktinomykose.  Handbuch  der  pathogenen  Mikroorganismen 
Kolle  und  Wassermann),  2nd  edition,  V 301.  A later  account  based  on  Schlegel’s  summary 
s in  V.  A.  Moore,  1916.  The  Pathology  and  Differential  Diagnosis  of  Infectious  Diseases  of 
tnimals,  p.  255. 


250 


PALEOPATHOLOGY 


of  a pig  in  which  were  embedded  fragments  of  straw  fringed  with  an 
abundant  growth  of  Actinomyces,  similar  to  figures  in  Kolle  and  Was- 
sermann’s  Handbuch. 

Cattle  are  especially  susceptible  to  the  disease  and  there  has  been 
a great  amount  of  discussion  as  to  the  influence  of  this  disease  on  the 
flesh  of  animals  in  respect  to  its  use  as  food.  Other  animals  are 
afflicted,  however,  and  examples  have  been  seen  in  bears,  deer,  dogs, 
cats,  horses,  swine,  sheep,  elephant  and  man.  Cases  of  human  ac- 
tinomycoses are  not  uncommon,  sometimes  even  taking  the  form  of  a 
suppurative  “lump-jaw.”  The  disease  is  pretty  generally  distributed 
throughout  the  world  and  recognizable  lesions  on  domestic  animals 
are  not  uncommon.  The  disease  not  only  afflicts  the  respiratory  and 
oral  passages  but  also  the  skin,  subcutaneous  tissues,  lymph  glands  and 
adjoining  structures.  The  disease  is  seldom  fatal  so  its  influence  in 
the  extinction  of  ancient  races  was  of  very  little  value. 

So  far  as  I can  learn  no  example  of  actinomycosis  has  ever  been 
reported  in  the  rhinoceros.  The  present  instance  then,  if  properly 
interpreted,  is  the  first  recognition  of  the  occurrence  of  this  disease 
in  the  Rhinocerotidae.  The  jaw  bearing  the  pathological  lesion  was 
loaned  me  for  study  by  Mr.  Harold  Cook,  of  Agate,  Nebraska,  and 
was  collected  by  him  in  the  Snake  Creek,  Pliocene,  beds  of  that  state. 
A general  discussion  of  the  nature  of  these  deposits  is  given  in  Chapter 
V,  under  the  heading  “Spondylitis  deformans  in  a Pliocene  Camel.” 
The  specimen  is  that  of  an  adult  rhinoceros  of  the  genus  Aphelops,  an 
extinct  group  which  ranges  from  the  IMiddle  Miocene  to  the  Pliocene.^ 
The  specimen  presents  the  right  mandibular  ramus  complete  and  a 
portion  of  the  left  ramus  (Figure  24)  for  the  distance  of  the  anterior 
diastema  in  which  the  actinomycotic  osteitis  is  evident.  Both  incisor 
teeth  are  lost,  and  into  the  alveolus  of  the  left  one,  which  is  greatly 
carious,  has  penetrated  a necrotic  sinus  from  the  actinomycotic  lesion. 

The  tumor-like  mass  on  the  wfflole  resembles  a lesion  of  “lump-jaw” 
in  a modern  cow  with  which  it  has  been  compared.  The  interior  of  the 
tumor  mass  has  a mealy  appearance  as  if  all  or  nearly  all  traces  of  os- 
seous structure  were  lost  and  from  this  central  muss,  which  in  life  was 
filled  with  pus,  radiate  out  in  an  irregular  manner  several  necrotic 
passages  through  which  a chronic  discharge  of  infective  material  has 
passed.  The  surface  of  the  bone,  greatly  swollen,  is  very  rough  with 
low  blunt  osteophytes  scattered  irregularly  over  its  surface.  I assume 

^ An  excellent  account  of  the  fossil  forms  is  given  by  H.  F.  Osborn,  1898.  The  extinct 
Rhinoceroses.  Memoirs  Amer.  hlus.  Natl.  Hist.,  I,  no.  3. 


CHRONIC  INFECTIONS 


251 


l.at  most  of  the  tumor  mass  is  lost,  for  the  actinomycotic  osteitis 
Irmed  a plane  of  weakness  through  which  a prefossilization  fracture 
ccurred  separating  the  posterior  portion  of  the  left  ramus  from  the  re- 
mainder of  the  jaw,  so  all  we  have  left  is  the  anterior  part  of  the  lump, 
'he  fistulae  were  doubtless  discharging  pus  at  the  time  of  death  of  the 
aimal  Mnce  there  is  little  evidence  of  healing.  There  is  no  reason  to  as- 
;ime  that  during  the  life  of  the  animal,  a million  years  ago,  the  lesions 
id  an  appearance  at  all  different  from  modern  cases  of  “lump-jaw.” 

Of  course  it  must  be  clearly  recognized  that  the  assignment  of  this 
sion  to  actinomycosis  is  purely  on  the  basis  of  a comparison,  exter- 
ally,  with  modern  lesions  of  that  type.  The  fossil  rhinoceros  presents  a 
■sion  on  the  mandible,  a common  place  for  the  occurrence  of  ac- 
inomycosis  in  modern  times,  and  the  lesion  has  all  the  external  ap- 
earances  of  an  actinomycotic  osteitis  but  no  search  for  fossil  ray 
ingi  has  been  made  from  the  fossil  jaw.  Such  a search  would  be  futile 
k I have  assured  myself  from  a m.icroscopic  examination  of  scores  of 
ther  fossil  lesions.  Bacteria  would  doubtless  be  found  in  the  canal- 
uli  but  these  would  be  of  no  significance  in  diagnosing  the  pathology, 
flycelia  might  occur  in  the  remaining  lacunae  but  I have  not  thought 
i worth  while  to  search  for  them,  for  even  if  found  they  would  not  be  of 
ositive  significance. 

I HYPEROSTOSES  OR  PACHYOSTOSES  (gIANTISm) 

IN  ANCIENT  ANIMALS 

The  type  of  pathological  changes  referred  to  under  this  heading 
. not  due  to  infection,  irritation,  fracture  or  any  of  general  phases  of 
yperplastic  outgrowths  referred  to  elsewhere  but  is  of  the  nature 
f general  enlargement  of  parts  or  of  the  entire  skeleton,  similar  to 
lose  osseous  enlargements  seen  in  cases  of  human  giantism.  In  view 
;f  the  suggested  relationships  existing  between  such  conditions  and 
isorders  of  the  pituitary  body,  it  will  be  of  interest  to  cite  here  what  we 
now  of  such  conditions  in  earlier  animals. 

I have  not  seen  any  example  of  such  hyperostoses,  nor  do  I know  of 
ny  such  having  been  described  among  American  fossil  vertebrates,  but 
tie  evidence  presented  here  is  based  on  discussions  in  the  foreign  litera- 
ure  and  chiefly  the  studies  of  Abel  (1912),  Volz  (1902),  Brandt  and 
temdachner  (1859)  and  other  European  writers.  It  was  Abel,  the 
istinguished  paleontologist  of  Vienna,  who  proposed  the  comparative 
erm  pachyostoses  for  such  conditions.  These  have  already  (Plate  X,  b) 
een  briefly  referred  to  in  Chapter  I but  since  Abel’s  (1912)  account  is 


252 


PALEOPA  THOLOGY 


the  most  complete  survey  of  the  subject  I have  though  best  to  quot( 
his  exact  words  in  regard  to  the  matter: 

Fossile  Knochen  zeigen  sehr  haufig  jene  Veranderung  der  Form  and  Struktur 
die  als  Pachyostose  oder  Hyperostose  bezeichnet  zu  werden  pflegt.  Diese  Verander 
ungen  sind  bei  einzelnen  Gruppen  von  functioneller  Bedeutung,  wo  es  sich  urn  di( 
Ausbildung  eines  inneren  Korperpanzers  als  Schutz  gegen  die  Brandung  etc 
handelt. 

Unter  den  lebenden  Sirenen  besitzt  nur  der  Dugong  pachyostotische  Knochen. 
Bei  den  fossilen  Halicoriden  ist  aber  die  Pachyostose  des  Skelettes  weit  starkei 
gewesen  und  hat  fast  alle  Knochen  ergriffen.  Wahrend  bei  der  primitiven  Sirene 
Eotherium  aegyptiacum  Owen  aus  der  mitteleozanen  unteren  Mokattamstufe 
Aegyptens  nur  der  vordere  Teil  des  Thorax  und  die  vorderen  Rippen  neben  anderen 
Skelettelementen  (Schulterblatt,  Schadel,  Unterkiefer)  pachyostotisch  verandert 
sind,  hat  die  Pachyostose  bei  der  j iingeren  Eosiren  libyca  Andrews  bereits  auf  die 
hinteren  Wirbel  und  die  hinteren  Rippen  iibergegriffen  und  schreitet  bei  HaUther- 
ium  und  Mataxytherium  in  Oligozan  und  Miozan  noch  weiter  fort,  um  bei  dem 
pliozanen  Felsinotherium  das  Maximum  zu  erreichen. 

Dieselbe  Erscheinung  zeigen  die  als  Pachycanthus  Suessi  Brandt  beschriebenen 
Bartenwale  der  sarmatischen  Stufe  des  Wiener  Beckens.  Die  ersten  Anfange  der 
Wirbel-  und  Rippenpachyostose  sind  schon  an  Cototherien  der  Leithakalkbildungen 
zu  beobachten,  wie  u.a.  ein  Wirbel  im  Wiener  Hofmuseum  zeigt.  Auch  hier  han- 
delt es  sich  um  eine  Knochenerkrankung,  die  spater  von  funktioneUer  Bedeutung 
geworden  ist. 

Ebenso  sind  auch  die  Knochen  der  Sauropterygier  pachyostotisch  verandert; 
schon  Proneusticosaurus  zeigt  diese  Erscheinung  sehr  deutlich  und  zwar  besitzen 
die  Wirbel  dieses  Sauropterygiers  eine  auffaUende  Aehnlichkeit  mit  den  Wirbel 
von  Pachycanthus  infolge  der  eigentiimlich  birnformig  angeschwollenen  Wirbel- 
fortsatze  (Neuropophysen  und  Diapophysen).  Auch  bei  vereinzelten  fossilen 
Fischen,  z.B.  bei  Caranx  carangopsis  aus  der  sarmatischen  Stufe  des  Wiener 
Beckens  sind  pachyostotische  Knochenveranderungen  beobachtet  worden. 

The  sacral  vertebra  referred  to  by  Abel,  as  belonging  to  the  Sauro- 
pterygian,  Proneusticosaurus  silesiacus  Volz,  from  the  Middle  Trias  is 
shown  in  Plate  X,  b. 

OSTEOMALACIA  IN  AN  EOCENE  CARNIVORE 

A diagnosis  of  a nutritional  disturbance,  such  as  osteomalacia,  as 
the  cause  of  the  pathology  of  the  limb  bones  of  the  early  carnivore  must 
be  regarded  as  extremely  uncertain.  The  diagnosis  in  this  case  means 
that  the  lesions  look  more  like  those  seen  in  examples  of  modern 
osteomalacia  than  other  lesions  I have  seen.  Limnocyon  potens,  the 
primitive,  creodont  carnivore  from  the  Washakie  Eocene  exhibits,  on 
a skeleton  preserved  in  the  American  Museum  of  Natural  His  tor}",  in 
the  lower  part  of  the  tibia  and  fibula,  as  well  as  the  tibio-tarsal  joint 
and  certain  of  the  tarsal  bones,  carious  h}T>erplastic  lesions.  The  shafts 
of  the  limb  bones  are  not  involved,  and  the  femur,  measuring  less 
than  five  inches  in  length,  is  normal.  The  tibio-tarsal  joint  and  the 


CHRONIC  INFECTIONS 


253 


aticular  surfaces  of  the  calcaneum  and  astragulus  are  invaded  by 
athritic  lesions  (Plate  LI).  There  is  considerable  hyperostosis  evi- 
cnt  in  an  examination  of  the  entire  bones,  an  enlargement  to  nearly 
tree  the  natural  size.  The  relation  of  this  form  of  pathology  to 
tiuma  must  be  kept  in  mind. 

'RAUMATIC  LESIONS  AND  OTHER  PATHOLOGY  OF  THE  PLEISTOCENE 

MAMMALS 

The  remains  from  the  Cumberland  cave  deposits  of  Maryland  rep- 
rsent  a considerable  miammalian  fauna,  not  the  least  interesting  of 
viich  is  an  American  cave  bear  of  two  species.^  A right  femur  of  one  of 
ticse  bears.  No.  8905,  U.  S.  N.  M.,  on  the  lower  posterior  surface  of 
te  bone  shows  a wide  area  of  carious  roughening  with  low,  blunt 
cteophytes  (Plate  LV).  The  bone  is  somewhat  hypertrophied  and 
dubtless  the  lesions  indicate  a severe  trauma. 

;!  A mastoid  of  a peccary,  Platygonus,  from  the  same  deposits,  shows 
alnarked  osteoperiostitis.  The  bone  has  a superficial  carious  roughen- 
i?  as  if  a superficial  flesh  wound  had  become  infected.  There  are  no 
evidences  of  necrotic  sinuses. 

. The  feet  of  the  large  South  American  edentates,  known  as  ground 
sfths,  often  show  osteophytes  on  foot  bones. 

1 A metatarsal  of  a giant  wolf,  Aenocyon  dims  Leidy,  (Plate  LIV), 
f|m  the  Pleistocene,  Rancho  la  Brea  beds  of  southern  California,  shows 
ejidence  of  a healed  fracture  of  the  middle  of  the  bone  with  repair  and 
e suing  callus  and  descending  osteophytes.  Section  (Plate  LIV,  f.) 
t rough  the  bone  shows  some  hyperostosis. 

A metatarsal  of  a huge  saber-tooth  cat,  Smilodon  (Plate  LIV)  from 
ti  same  beds  shows  on  one  surface  a sharp  exostosis,  doubtless  due 
t an  infection  of  a tendon  sheath,  or  some  similar  irritation.  Another 
sfilar  bone  (Plate  LIV)  exhibits  on  the  lower  end  of  the  bone  consider- 
ajle  carious  roughening  and  hyperostosis. 

' Many  phalangeal  bones  of  the  giant  wolf,  Aenocyon  dims  Leidy, 
ejiibit  evidences  of  rheumatic  disturbances,  and  in  one  (Plate  LIII, 
dnd  g)  there  are  extensive  necrotic  sinuses,  as  of  osteomyelitis,  or  some 
sJiilar  long-standing  necrosis.  Many  vertebrae  of  Smilodon  exhibit 
pfhological  lesions  indicating  a wide  variety  of  trauma.  (Fig.  25.) 

‘ Discussions  of  other  Pleistocene  lesions  will  be  found  in  Chapter  I. 

^J.  W.  Gidley,  1913.  Preliminary  Report  on  a recently  discovered  Pleistocene  cave 
E'losit  near  Cumberland  Maryland.  Proc.  U.  S.  Natl.  Mus.,  xlvi,  93-102. 

; 1920.  Pleistocene  peccaries  from  the  Cumberland  Cave  Deposits.  Proc.  U.  S.  Natl. 

Ivii,  651-678. 


254 


PALEOPA  THOLOGY 


SKELETAL  ANOMALIES  AMONG  FOSSIL  VERTEBRATES 

Anomalies  are  seldom  seen  among  fossil  vertebrates  and  have 
attracted  very  little  attention  from  paleontologists.  It  seems  rather 
peculiar  that  no  specimens  of  Teratomata  or  other  teratological  evi- 
dences have  been  found  among  fossil  vertebrates.  Possibly  this  is  to  be 
explained  by  the  scantiness  of  the  recorded  vertebrates  as  compared  to 
the  numbers  which  must  have  lived  in  ancient  times. 

An  apparent  anomaly  possibly  to  be  interpreted  as  an  anomalous 
vascular  foramen  or  an  aberrant  nerve  foramen  due  to  a thoracic  spinal 
nerve,  is  to  be  seen  in  the  right  scapula  of  Trachodon  annectens,  a Cre- 
taceous dinosaur,  the  skeleton  of  which  is  mounted  in  the  Yale  Univer- 
sity Museum.  Near  the  posterior  margin  of  the  superior  border  of  the 
blade  of  the  scapula  (Fig.  c,  Plate  XXIX)  is  an  elongate,  elliptical 
hole  8 cm  in  length,  with  smooth  edges,  indicating  possibly,  that  the 
animal  received  a severe  injury  during  life  and  completely  recovered 
from  it  before  death,  or  it  may  be  an  anomaly.  The  presence  in  the 
same  beds  of  numerous  remains  of  armored  and  horned  Triceratops 
suggests  that  there  may  have  been  an  encounter  between  these  two 
dinosaurs  and  the  injury  due  to  a horn  thrust  from  one  of  the  three- 
horned dinosaurs. 

Various  anomalies  of  the  teeth,  extremities  and  vertebrae  have  been 
discussed  by  Schlosser  who  finds  that  in  the  Pleistocene  cave  bears  of 
the  caves  of  the  Kaiser thal  near  Kuf stein,  Austria,  anomalies  exist 
oftener  in  the  vertebrae  than  in  the  teeth  or  extremities.  The  anomalies 
described  by  Schlosser  were,  for  the  most  part,  slight  variations  from 
the  normal  and  do  not  partake  of  the  nature  of  teratologicaP  variations. 

^ T.  Popescu-Voitesti,  1908.  Abnormale  Erscheinungen  bei  Nummuliten.  Beitrag.  Pal. 
u.  Geol.  Oesterr. -Ungam.  u.d.  Orients,  xxi,  211-219. 


CHRONIC  INFECTIONS 


255 


DESCRIPTIONS  OF  FIGURES  23-25  AND  PLATES  XLVII-LVIII  ILLUSTRATING 

CHAPTER  VII 


256 


PALEOPATHOLOGY 


Figure  23 

Right  and  left  views  of  the  mounted  skeleton  of  the  dinosaur  Camptosaurm 
in  the  U.  S.  National  Museum,  showing  in  the  ilium  on  the  right  side  a necroti 
sinus,  outlined  in  ink.  The  nature  of  the  sinus  is  shown  in  Plate  L,  a. 


1 


CHRONIC  INFECTIONS 


257 


. . 


FIGURES  24-25 


258 


PALEOPATHOLOGY 


Figure  24 

Right  mandible  of  Aphelops,  a fossil  rhinoceros  from  the  Pliocene,  Snake 
Creek  beds  of  western  Nebraska,  showing  at  the  arrow  the  lesion  in  the  left  ramus 
which  is  interpreted  as  evidence  of  actinomycosis.  Specimen  loaned  by  Mr. 
Harold  J.  Cook. 


Figure  25 

Diseased  lumbar  vertebra  of  Smilodon.  A sabre-toothed  cat  from  the  Pleisto- 
cene of  the  Rancho  la  Brea,  showing  evidences  of  an  intense  infection  in  the  right 
apophysis.  Specimen  presented  by  Mr.  E.  S.  Riggs. 


Figure  24 


CHRONIC  INFECTIONS 


259 


PLATE  XLVII 


260 


PA  LEOPA  THOLOGY 


PLATE  XLVn 
FAMOUS  FOSSIL  BEDS 

a-b.  Views  at  the  Rancho  la  Brea  asphalt  beds  near  Los  Angeles,  California, 
whence  come  numerous  remains  of  Pleistocene  mammals. 

a.  View  of  one  of  the  pools.  Gas  bubbles  may  be  seen  breaking  the  surface  of 
the  oil  and  water.  The  fossil  bones  are  quarried  from  the  banks  of  these  pools. 

b.  Asphalt  seep  on  the  margin  of  a tar  pool. 

c.  Excavating  fossil  skeletons  of  Oreodonts  from  the  Lower  Miocene  Rocks  of 
Northwestern  Nebraska.  There  are  five  almost  complete  skeletons  entombed  in 
the  block  between  the  workers.  American  Museum  of  Natural  Histor>'  Expedition 
of  1908. 


Plate  XLVII 


CHRONIC  INFECTIONS 


261 


PLATE  XL VIII 


262 


PALEOPATHOLOGY 


PLATE  XLVni 
MESOZOIC  PATHOLOGY 

a.  Radius  of  a mosasaur,  a large  swimming  reptile  from  the  Niobrara  Cretaceou: 
chalk  of  western  Kansas,  showing  at  the  upper  pole,  a huge  necrotic  sinus,  e\ddena 
of  the  presence  of  pathogenic  bacteria  during  the  closing  period  of  the  Mesozoic 
The  arrows  indicate  the  plane  in  which  the  bone  was  cut  to  obtain  the  view  showr 
in  “b.” 

b.  Slightly  enlarged  view  of  a median  section  of  the  diseased  radius  of  tht 
mosasaur  shown  in  “a.”  The  huge  necrotic  sinus  was  in  the  end  of  the  articulai 
surface  of  the  bone.  The  darkened  areas  are  hypertrophied  bone. 

c.  Dorsal  vertebra  of  a mosasaur,  Platecarpus,  from  the  Cretaceous  of  Kansas 
presenting  on  the  ventral  surface  the  unique  osteoma. 

d.  Outline  of  a median  sagittal  section  of  the  same  bone  showing  in  the  shaded 
area  the  portion  enlarged  in  Plate  XL. 

e.  An  immature,  possibly  embryonic,  propodial,  upper  limb  bone,  of  a plesio- 
saur, a large  swimming  reptile,  from  the  Cretaceous  of  Kansas,  showing  at  the  arrois 
a pathologic  exostosis.  Natural  size. 


Plate  XLVIII 


CHRONIC  INFECTIONS 


263 


PLATE  XLIX 


264 


PALEOPATHOLOGY 


PLATE  XLIX 
A CRETACEOUS  NECROSIS 

a.  Sawn  sagittal  section  of  radius,  taken,  in  plane  shown  by  arrows  in  “a,’ 
Plate  XL VIII.  The  sinus  is  seen  to  be  an  irregular  cavity,  and  immediateh 
below  this  occur  areas  of  hypertrophied  bone,  evident  in  the  blackened  portion  oi 
the  drawing  “b”  Plate  XLVIII.  These  areas  lack  the  abundant  small  vascula 
spaces  which  are  to  be  found  in  the  normal  bone  of  this  reptile.  Enlarged. 

b.  Arm  bone,  radius,  of  a swimming  reptile  from  the  Cretaceous  of  Kansas 
showing  roughened  area,  necrotic  sinus,  and  hypertrophy.  The  necrosis  is  possibh 
due  to  bacterial  activity  and  was  of  long  duration.  End  view. 

c.  Photomicrograph  of  pathologic  exostosis  on  humerus  of  plesiosaur  from  th. 
Cretaceous  of  Kansas.  X 200.  Compare  Plate  XLVIII,  e. 


Plate  XLIX 


265 


266 


PALEOPATHOLOGY 


PLATE  L 

PATHOLOGY  IN  TWO  DINOSAURS 

a.  The  right  ilium  of  Camptosauriis  hrowni,  a large  dinosaur  from  the  Creta- 
ceous of  Wyoming,  showing  a large  necrotic  sinus  at  “A.” 

The  left  side  of  the  same  skeleton  shows  a normal  ilium.  Specimen  mounted 
in  the  U.  S.  National  Museum  at  Washington. 

b-c.  Two  views  of  the  right  scapula  of  Triceraiops,  a large  three-homed  dino- 
saur from  the  Upper  Cretaceous  of  Wyoming.  The  inner  surface,  on  which  this 
horn-like  projection  appears,  should  be  perfectly  smooth,  for  this  is  the  visceral 
surface  which  slides  over  the  ribs.  The  lesion  doubtless  caused  considerable 
irritation  of  the  pleura.  The  specimen  is  some  three  feet  in  length.  Preserv'ed  in 
the  U.  S.  National  Museum.  Courtesy  of  Mr.  Charles  Gilmore. 


Plate  L 


CHRONIC  INFECTIONS 


267 


- ■ O i'.  K .. 


PLATE  LI 


268 


PALEOPATHOLOGY 


PLATE  LI 

EOCENE  OSTEOMALACIA 

Lower  ends  of  the  tibia  and  fibula,  with  tarsal  bones,  of  Limnocyon  potens,  an 
early  carnivore,  from  the  Washakie  Eocene,  nearly  3,000,000  years  old.  These 
bones  show  considerable  exostoses  and  suggest,  from  their  appearance,  the  lesions 
seen  in  Osteomalacia  or  other  nutritional  disturbances.  Specimens  in  the  American 
Museum  of  Natural  History.  Courtesy  of  Dr.  W.  D.  Matthew’. 


Plate  LI 


CHRONIC  INFECTIONS 


269 


PLATE  LII 


270 


PALEOPATHOLOGY 


PLATE  Ln 

ANCIENT  CHRONIC  INEECTIONS 

a.  A drawing  of  the  exostosis  on  the  visceral  surface  of  the  scapula  shown  in 
Plate  L,  b and  c.  Triceratops. 

b.  A human  femur,  recent,  showing  an  exostosis  similar  in  its  general  external 
appearances  to  that  shown  in  “a.”  The  exostosis  on  the  femur  was  buried  in  mus- 
cles, while  that  on  the  dinosaur  scapula  was  doubtless  a source  of  considerable 
irritation. 

c.  A phalange  of  an  extinct  mammal,  known  as  Merycochoerus  rusticus  Leidy, 
a pig-like  ruminant  from  the  Oligocene  of  Nebraska,  showing  extensive  carious 
roughening.  (After  Leidy.) 

d.  Toe  bone  of  Dicer alherium  cooki,  a rhinoceros  from  the  Agate  Springs  Quarr)', 
Lower  Miocene,  Niobrara  Valley,  Sioux  County,  Nebraska,  showing  exostoses  of 
osteoperiostitis.  Collected  and  loaned  by  Mr.  Harold  J.  Cook. 

e.  Pathologic  caudal  vertebrae  of  a large  mammal  from  the  Pliocene  of  Ne- 
braska. The  nature  of  the  pathology  is  uncertain.  While  it  has  some  resemblances 
to  spondylitis  deformans  it  seems  not  to  conform  to  other  lesions  of  that  nature. 
Collected  and  loaned  by  Mr.  Harold  J.  Cook. 


Plate  LI  I 


TUsmsrmm 


CHRONIC  INFECTIONS 


271 


272 


PALEOPATHOLOGY 


PLATE  Lin 

PATHOLOGY  IN  FOSSIL  MAMMALS 

a.  A small  area  of  one  of  the  fossiliferous  asphalt  beds  at  Rancho  la  Brea  ii 
process  of  excavation,  showing  the  skeletal  remains  before  they  had  been  complete!; 
uncovered.  In  this  picture  there  may  be  seen  the  under  side  of  the  lower  jaw  of  < 
horse,  considerable  parts  of  the  skulls  of  four  saber-tooth  cats,  four  large  wolf  skulls 
two  coyote  skulls,  and  many  other  skeletal  parts  only  imperfectly  preserved.  Thi 
figure  serves  to  show  how  crowded  the  area  must  have  been  in  early  Pleistocem 
times  and  how  frequent  traumatic  lesions  may  have  been  produced.  (After  Mer 
riam.) 

b.  Right  radius  of  Daphaenus  felinus,  a large  dog  from  the  Oligocene  of  Ne 
braska,  2,500,000  years  old,  showing  on  the  lower  end  a large  exostosis,  which  i 
matched  on  the  other  radius  by  a duplicate  lesion.  The  lesions  are  slightly  unequal 
the  left  being  almost  twice  as  long  as  the  right.  Both  of  the  tumor-like  growths  enc 
in  four  or  five  osteophytes.  Daphaenodon,  a related  dog,  has  the  radii  smootl 
without  any  evidences  of  pathology.  Skeletons  of  these  tw'o  interesting  ancien 
dogs  are  on  exhibition  at  the  Carnegie  Museum,  Pittsburgh. 

c.  End  view  of  radius  showing  ventral  appearance  of  tumor.  (After  Hatcher. 

d.  and  g.  Dorsal  (d)  and  end  (g)  views  of  phalange  of  a giant  wolf  from  thi 
Pleistocene  of  California  showing  erosions  of  chronic  osteomyelitis. 

e.  and  /.  Lateral  view  (e)  and  section  (f)  of  a fractured  metatarsal  of  a wol 
from  the  Pleistocene  of  California. 


Plate  LIII 


CHRONIC  INFECTIONS 


273 


274 


PALEOPATHOLOGY 


PLATE  LIV 

PLEISTOCENE  PATHOLOGY 

a.  End  view  of  phalange  of  wolf  showing  necrosis. 

h.  Photomicrograph  of  a section  cut  through  the  exostosis  shown  in  the  middle 
upper  figure  of  “c.”  X 70. 

c.  Pathologic  foot  bones  from  the  Rancho  la  Brea  of  California.  From  left 
to  right  they  are: 

Upper  row:  Metatarsal  of  a giant  wolf,  Aenocyon  dirus,  showing  a fracture  of 
the  middle  of  the  bone  with  repair.  The  ensuing  callus  and  hypertrophied  parts  are 
roughened  indicating  an  infection.  The  same  bone  is  shown  in  Plate  LIU,  e. 

Metatarsal  of  a saber-tooth  cat,  Smilodon,  showing  on  the  upper  right  hand  sur- 
face a sharp  exostosis  doubtless  due  to  an  injury  of  a tendon  sheath. 

Another  metatarsal  of  same  animal  showing  on  the  lower  end  considerable 
carious  roughening. 

Lower  row:  Various  pathologic  phalanges  of  giant  wolf. 


Plate  LIV 


I. 

!,  CHRONIC  INFECTIONS 


V* 

t 


i 


275 


276 


PALEOPA THOLOGY 


PLATE  LV 

PLEISTOCENE  OSTEOPERIOSTITIS 

Right.  Mastoid  of  Plaiygonus  showing  osteoperiostitis  (not  well  shown  in 
photo)  from  Cumberland  Cave,  Maryland  shows  no  evidences  of  necrotic  sinuses 
but  carious  roughenings  as  if  a superficial  flesh  wound  had  become  infected. 

Left.  Right  fem.ur  of  a cave-bear  from  Cumberland  Cave.  No  arthritis.  No. 
8905  U.  S.  National  Aluseum. 

Lower  posterior  surface  of  bone  shows  a wide  area  of  carious  roughening  Mth 
low  blunt  osteophytes. 


Plate  LV 


278 


PALEOPATHOLOGY 


PLATE  LVI 

PATHOLOGY  OF  AMERICAN  BISON 

Upper  figure.  Lesions  of  chronic  osteomyelitis,  doubtless  resulting  from  £ 
compound  fracture,  seen  on  the  under  surface  of  a metacarpal  of  an  Americar 
Bison  from  the  plains  of  Kansas. 

Lower  figure.  Lesions  of  arthritis  deformans  seen  in  and  around  the  head  of  thf 
humerus  of  an  American  Bison  from  the  plains  of  Kansas. 


Plate  LVI 


CHRONIC  INFECTIONS 


279 


PLATE  LVII 


280 


PALEOPATHOLOGY 


PLATE  LVTI 

PATHOLOGY  IN  THE  AMERICAN  BISON 

Left.  Conjoined  vertebral  spines  of  an  American  Bison. 

Right.  Chronic  osteomyelitis  developed  in  the  knee  of  a bison  due  to  a buUe 
wound.  Posterior  view.  The  bullet  was  still  in  the  wound. 


I 

I 

i 


Plate  LVII 


CHRONIC  INFECTIONS 


281 


PLATE  LVIII 


282 


PALEOPATHOLOGY 


PLATE  LVni 
CHRONIC  INFECTIONS 

a.  Lumbar  vertebrae  of  a Pliocene  camel,  showing  lesions  of  spond}'litis  defer, 
mans  at  the  arrows.  The  two  bones  are  firmly  conjoined.  Reduced. 

b.  Leg  bone  of  a three-toed  horse  showing  at  the  upper  end,  slight  lesions  of  a 
periarthritic  nature. 

c.  Toe  bone  of  a three-toed  horse  showing  osteohe-pertrophy  and  low,  blunt 
osteophytes. 

d.  Toe  bone  of  a camel,  showing  arthritic  lesions. 

All  specimens  collected  in  the  Pliocene,  Snake  Creek  beds  of  western  Nebraska 
by  Mr.  Harold  J.  Cook,  and  loaned  b}'  him. 


Plate  LVIII 


CHAPTER  VIII 


PARASITISM  AMONG  FOSSIL  ANIMALS 

The  origin  of  parasitism.  Symbiosis  among  fossil  animals.  Parasitism  of  Carboniferous 
iinoids.  Theoretical  aspects  of  Paleopathology.  A case  of  Pleistocene  parasitism. 

THE  ORIGIN  or  PARASITISM 

Parasitism  began,  doubtless,  when  there  were  forms  developed 
tpable  of  hving  at  the  expense  of  another.  It  has  been  suggested  that 
irasitism  and  consequently  disease  began  in  the  Proterozoic.  This 
ea  is  based  on  the  theoretical  assumption  of  the  infection  of  early 
Dsts  by  sporozoans,  a supposition  which  can  be  neither  denied  nor 
firmed  on  definite  evidence.  This  interesting  possibihty  I have  shown 
: a diagram  on  a later  page  and  it  must  be  considered  as  a possibility  in 
' scussing  the  origin  of  parasitism.  It  is  true  that  most  parasites  leave 
:tle  or  no  impress  on  the  hard  parts,  hence  the  geological  record  is  very 
jicomplete  in  this  respect  and  we  shall  probably  never  know  the  actual 
jginnings  of  parasitism.  The  evidences  of  dependent  life,  symbiosis 
:id  parasitism,  presenting  themselves  to  the  paleontologists  must  be 
(liefly  of  marine  origin,  since  very  little  is  known  of  early  fresh  water 
;rms,  adapted  to  a single  host;  they  must,  moreover,  be  simple  in  their 
cpression  and  may  be  easily  misunderstood.  The  ancient  faunas  show 
at  these  associations  of  dependence  began  far  back  in  the  history 
' life. 

There  have  been  assembled  by  Dr.  John  M.  Clarke  (1921)  materials 
:om  the  older  faunas  of  geological  history  which  illustrate  the  begin- 
:ngs  of  dependent  fife,  thus  attacking  the  problem  in  a practical  way. 
e has  described  in  an  essay,  “The  Beginnings  of  Dependent  Life,” 
samples  which  form  the  basis  for  our  present  knowledge  of  the  begin- 
mgs  of  symbiotic  and  parasitic  conditions.  He  says: 

So  far  as  our  facts  go  there  are  but  few  evidences  of  true  parasitic  conditions 
i the  Paleozoic  faunas.  The  oldest  and  clearest  is  the  well  known  case  of  the  coali- 
nn  of  the  hmpetlike  snail,  Platyceras,  and  the  crinoids.  The  snail  settles  down  at 
c|  early  age  on  the  dome  of  the  crinoid  placing  the  aperture  of  the  shell  over  the 
; al  vent  of  its  host  and  remains  attached  for  an  indefinite  period  of  its  subsequent 

‘ It  is  clear  that  the  snail  depends  for  its  food  on  the  waste  from  the  crinoid  and 
1 2 fact  that  it  remains  attached  for  a very  considerable  period  of  its  existence  is 
sawn  by  specimens  of  the  crinoid  dome  bearing  successive  scars  made  by  the 


283 


284 


PALEOPATHOLOGY 


enlarging  growth  of  the  mouth  of  the  snail  shell.  Though  this  is  the  most  extreme 
expression  of  ancient  parasitism  known  to  us,  it  was  evidently  of  a very  elastic  kind 
and  by  no  means  affected  aU  individuals  of  this  genus  of  shells.  This  combination 
makes  its  first  appearance  in  the  early  Devonic  and  seems  to  have  become  intensi- 
fied in  the  great  crinoid  plantations  of  the  early  Carbonic  but  in  either  formation 
the  examples  of  the  actual  dependent  combination  are  in  very  slender  proportion 
to  the  number  of  individuals  of  either  snail  or  crinoid.  Some  of  the  snails  acquired 
this  habit  of  parasitic  dependence,  others  evidently  did  not.  Apparently  it  was  in 
some  measure  an  individual  adjustment.  Yet  the  more  general  dependence  of  this 
snail,  Platyceras,  on  the  crinoids  is  indicated  by  the  fact  that  quite  generally  Paleo- 
zoic strata  carrying  an  abundance  of  the  one  also  abound  in  the  other. 

Time  has  not  extinguished  this  affiliation,  for  the  existing  seas  afford  occasional 
evidences  of  similar  relation  between  the  limpets  and  the  crinoids.  Our  material 
seems  to  throw  some  light  on  the  inception  of  this  dependent  habit.  A crinoid, 
Glyptocrinus,  from  the  Upper  Siluric  is  occasionally  found  inclosing  in  its  arms  a 
holostomatous  snail,  Cyclonema,  not  attached  to  the  dome,  for  the  shell  had  not 
the  limpet  habit  of  attachment,  but  lying  free  in  such  attitude  as  to  get  the  full 
advantage  of  the  crinoid’s  waste. 

True  dependence  is  also  indicated  by  a similar  association  between  the  crinoids 
of  the  Carbonic  rocks  and  the  starfish  Onychaster  (Figure  26).  The  starfish 
adjusts  itself,  mouth  downward,  over  the  anal  aperture  of  the  crinoid.  Our  speci- 
mens showing  this  condition  have  been  caught  in  this  act  of  feeding.  The  flexible 
character  of  the  starfish  made  the  attachment  easily  subject  to  change.  This  asso- 
ciation too  is  one  that  time  has  not  cured. 

SYMBIOSIS  AMONG  FOSSIL  ANIMALS 

Commensalism  and  symbiosis  are  the  natural  precursors  of  para- 
sitism, and  these  associations  became  estabhshed  more  abundantly  and 
at  an  earlier  date  than  parasitism.  Clarke  (1921)  has  established  a 
number  of  examples  and  has  illustrated  a variety  of  Paleozoic  sjunbiotic 
associations. 

The  coexistence  of  the  tubicolous  worms  vuth  the  corals  became 
established  at  a very  early  stage  in  the  earth’s  history  and  in  the 
Devonic  coral  reef  the  habit  had  already  become  widespread  and  varied. 
Probably  less  frequent  in  Siluric  times  the  oldest  known  examples  in- 
dicate an  elementary  expression  of  commensalism. 

A typical  case  of  symbiosis,  involving  the  association  of  a hydrac- 
tinian  and  a hermit  crab,  has  been  described  from  the  Eocene  of  Eg}Tb 
and  has  been  called  “Kerunia”  after  the  place  where  it  was  found, 
Birket-el-Kerun.  Fraas^  described  similar  forms  from  the  Fiji  Islands. 
While  the  fossil  Kerunias  consists  of  hydractinians  which  have  grown 
around  small  snail  shells,  the  recent  ones  have  been  formed  upon  a 
nucleus  of  serpulid  shells.  In  the  fossils  the  gastropod  shells  which 

‘ E.  Fraas,  1911 — Eine  rezente  Kenmia-Bildung.  Verhandl.  k.k.  zool.  botan.  Ges.  in 
Wien,  Ixi,  70. 


FOSSIL  PARASITISM 


285 


lad  been  overgrown  by  hydractinians  had  later  served  as  dwelling 
daces  for  hermit  crabs. 

The  relation  of  the  myzostomid  worms  to  modern  crinoids  is  often 
if  a parasitic  nature. 

j The  colouration  of  the  myzostomids  and  their  relation  to  that  of  their 
iiosts  is  not  very  exact,  since  blackish,  yellow  and  white  myzostomids 
iccur  just  as  frequently  on  red  comatulids  as  blood-red  species  on 
'^ariegated  comatulids,  though  on  the  whole  the  myzostomids  show  a 
,Teat  colour  resemblance  to  their  hosts. ^ 

PARASITISM  OF  CARBONIFEROUS  CRINOIDS 

Robert  Etheridge  (1880)  was  the  student  who  first  recognized 
he  nature  of  the  swollen  stems  of  fossil  Carboniferous  crinoids  al- 
hough  he  was  unable  to  determine  the  nature  of  the  parasite.  He 
pund  on  opening  one  of  the  enlargements  that  a fossilized  worm  was 
:vident  as  a piece  of  black  matrix  reposing  against  the  further  wall  of 
he  cavity.  Graff  (1885)  was  able  to  confirm  the  findings  of  Etheridge 
ind  recognized  in  the  carbonized  remains  the  fossilized  integument  of  a 
nyzostomid.  Graff  remarks: 

AU  deformities  on  fossil  crinoids  due  to  myzostomids  belong  to  two  categories 
■i  arm  enlargements  as  represented  among  recent  species.  AU  fossil  myzostomic 
ieformities  occur  on  the  stems  of  crinoids,  where  the  lesions  are  of  many  kinds, 
dany  of  the  described  cases  of  deformity  of  the  stem  are  due  to  accretions  of  corals, 
iryozoans  and  brachiopods,  but  there  are  numerous  authentic  cases  of  stem  en- 
irgement  which  have  involved  two  or  more  arms. 

Graff  reviewed  the  literature  and  referred  to  numerous  species  of 
rinoids  which  showed  swollen  stems,  some  of  the  species  having  been 
lased  on  the  tumors,  which  had  been  mistaken  for  calyces.  Graff 
ompared  very  carefully  his  results  with  the  swollen  crinoid  stems 
llescribed  in  the  reports  of  the  Challenger  exploring  Expedition,  where 
he  infecting  forms  were  known  to  be  myzostomids. 

Swollen  stems  of  crinoids  are  often  seen  by  paleontologists,  in 
turope  and  America,  but  few  have  recognized  their  parasitic  nature. 

The  specimens  suggesting  parasitism  vary  from  half  an  inch  to 
our  inches  in  maximum  diameter,  the  plates  of  the  stem  being  greatly 
nlarged.  The  columnars  are  often  spread  out  to  four  or  five  times 
heir  normal  diameter,  the  individual  plates  not  being  separated.  The 
nlargements  are  often  mere  bulgings  of  the  stem  (Plate  LIX),  and 

^ F.  A.  Potts:  The  Fauna  associated  with  the  Crinoids  of  a Tropical  Reef;  with  especial 
iference  to  its  colour  variations.  Papers  from  the  Dept,  of  Marine  Biology  of  the  Carnegie 
rst.  Wash.,  viii,  93,  1915. 


i 


286 


PA  LEOPA  THOLOGY 


again  they  take  the  form  of  large  tumors,  tapering  at  each  end  to  join 
the  normal  stem.  Graff  found  the  parasite  located  at  the  point  of 
greatest  enlargement. 

Under  the  heading  “Symbiosis  in  the  worms  and  crinoids"  Clarke 
(1921)  says  regarding  these  lesions: 

The  data  for  such  association  are  not  abundant.  Myzostomum,  a wormlike 
creature,  believed  to  be  an  annelid,  is  parasitic  on  living  crinoids  where  its  species 
(Compare  Plate  LIX,  c)  cause  galls  or  swellings  by  the  overgrowth  of  the  cal- 
careous substance.  On  the  columns  of  Paleozoic  crinoids  small  gall-like  protuber- 
ances are  occasionally  found,  with  a central  perforation,  and  several  authors  have 
ascribed  these  to  the  Myzostomum.  These  Myzostomid  galls  (Myzostomites) 
have  been  recorded  from  rocks  as  early  as  the  Upper  Ordovician,  but  we  must 
confess  to  know  very  little  about  them,  and  some  of  the  pittings  and  depressions 
on  crinoid  columns  which  have  been  thought  to  be  the  inner  cavities  of  Myzostomid 
cysts  are  doubtless  of  other  origin.  Perhaps  the  best  proof  that  these  galls  have 
been  made  by  infesting  worms  is  afforded  by  the  specimen  here  figured  (Clarke’s 
figure  47)  from  the  Hamilton  shales  of  the  Devonian. 

It  should  be  noted  here  that  Bassler  has  described  objects  of  a 
similar  nature,  and  has  interpreted  them  as  due  to  the  geodization 
(Plate  LIX,  b)  of  the  portion  of  stem.  Possibly,  however,  some  of  the 
enlargements  represent  parasitism.  Graff’s  example  seems  to  be  be- 
yond question.  If  these  are  parasitic  tumors  they  are  among  the  oldest 
known  pathologic  lesions  in  geological  history. 

I have  found  no  other  indications  of  parasitism  among  fossil  ani- 
mals, though  doubtless  this  factor  played  an  important  role  in  the  life 
history  and  natural  selection  of  many  extinct  species. 

There  are  a number  of  instances  showing  a symbiotic  relation  be- 
tween the  fossil  hexactinellid  sponges  of  the  family  Dictyospongidae 
and  worm  tubes  attached  to  the  inner  wall  of  the  cloaca  of  the  sponge. 
Associations  of  the  sponges  and  annelids  are  also  known.  The  associa- 
tions of  corals  and  barnacles  are  known  from  the  Silurian  and  Devonian. 
An  association  of  crinoids  and  cystids  with  gastropods,  already  referred 
to,  is  doubtless  an  instance  of  genuinely  dependent  parasitism  where 
an  attached  organism  relies  upon  its  host  for  its  nutriment  and  exis- 
tence. Keyes®  has  recorded  a long  list  of  these  parasitic  associations 
and  especially  indicates  the  effect  of  this  condition  in  modifving  the 
aperture  of  the  gastropod. 

Examples  of  pseudoparasitism  are  indicated  by  the  boring  forms  on 
dead  shells,  material  which  forms  a large  part  of  the  fossils  studied 
by  the  paleontologist.  These  boring  bodies  infesting  the  dead  shells 

^ C.  R.  Keyes.  Synopsis  of  .American  Carbonic  Calj-ptraeidae.  Acad.  Nat.  Sci.  Phila. 
Proc.,  1890,  p.  150. 


THEORETICAL  ASPEC'I'S  OF  RALEOPA'l'HOr.OCiY 


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ARCIII':OZOIC  No  life  known 


FOSSIL  PARASITISM 


287 


are  likely  to  be  either  minute  algae  or  fungi,  or  sponges  in  general  pro- 
ducing similar  effects  to  the  living  Cliona  or  Vioa.  The  total  amount  of 
deterioration  and  disintegration  of  skeletons  caused  by  these  minute 
organisms  was  doubtless  great  even  in  Paleozoic  times.  Boring 
pelycopods  were  not  unknown  in  the  early  Paleozoic,  and  have  been 
freely  described  in  Mesozoic  faunas  and  boring  insects  in  the  wmods 
of  the  Tertiary. 

Among  the  ants  of  the  Baltic  amber  there  is  one  specimen  of 
Lasius  schiefferdeckeri  Mayr,  with  a mite  attached  to  its  leg  in  exactly 
the  same  manner  as  we  find  mites  attached  to  ants  and  to  other  in- 
sects at  the  present  time.  This  is  the  only  known  case,  according  to  Dr. 
W.  M.  Wheeler,  of  actual  parasitism  in  these  Oligocene  insects. 

The  present  distribution  of  the  two  species  of  hookworms  which 
parasitize  man,  Ancylostoma  duodenale  and  Necator  americaniis,  in- 
dicates^ a prior  occurrence  of  these  species  in  the  anthropoid  ancestors 
of  the  human  race.  The  dispersal,  as  seen  from,  present  evidences,  wms 
evidently  from  an  Eurasiatic  race  of  pre-humans,  indicated  by  the 
Pithecanthropus  of  Java,  may  have  been  in  conjunction  with  the 
development  of  this  race  of  beings  from  which  man  of  the  Oriental  and 
Ethiopian  regions  sprung.  The  fossil  gibbon,  Proliopithecus , emerging 
from  Holoarctic  Africa  may  have  been  not  only  the  parent  form  of  man, 
gibbon,  chimpanzee,  gorilla  and  orang-outang,  but  he  may  have  har- 
bored the  parent  form  from  which  have  arisen  the  different  hookworm 
species  which  at  the  present  day  infest  man  and  anthropoids.  This 
suggestion  is  supported  by  the  zoological  data  of  the  mammals  of  Asia. 
The  geography  of  disease  will  thus  need  to  be  rewritten  to  include  the 
facts  and  suggestions  of  Paleopathology,  and  especially  the  deductions 
based  on  the  dispersal  of  the  host  of  disease-producing  parasites. 

THEORETICAL  ASPECTS  OF  PALEOPATHOLOGY 

The  accompanying  table  is  intended  to  show  certain  possible  rela- 
tions of  parasites  to  early  hosts.  It  is  based  on  the  modern  hosts,  as 
given  by  Castellani,®  in  which  the  parasites,  or  parasite  carriers,  are 
known  to  produce  disease,  and  the  antiquity  of  these  hosts  in  geolog- 
ical time.  The  apparent  error  in  the  conception  is  that  we  do  not  know 
whether  parasites  attacked  the  early  representatives  of  their  modern 
hosts,  and  if  they  did  whether  the  antagonism  was  sufficient  to  cause 

Samuel  T.  Darling:  1921 — The  Distribution  of  Hookworms  in  the  Zoological  Regions. 
Science,  N.S.,  vol.  LIII,  no.  1371,  323-324. 

‘ Castellani,  Aldo  and  Chalmers,  Albert  J.,  1913 — Manual  of  Tropical  Medicine. 


Triassic  Reptiles,  Amphib- 
ians, Fishes 


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ARCHEOZOIC  No  life  known 


FOSSIL  PARASITISM 


287 


ire  likely  to  be  either  minute  algae  or  fungi,  or  sponges  in  general  pro- 
ducing similar  effects  to  the  living  Cliona  or  Vioa.  The  total  amount  of 
deterioration  and  disintegration  of  skeletons  caused  by  these  minute 
organisms  was  doubtless  great  even  in  Paleozoic  times.  Boring 
pelycopods  were  not  unknown  in  the  early  Paleozoic,  and  have  been 
freely  described  in  Mesozoic  faunas  and  boring  insects  in  the  woods 
of  the  Tertiary. 

Among  the  ants  of  the  Baltic  amber  there  is  one  specimen  of 
Lasius  schiefferdeckeri  Mayr,  with  a mite  attached  to  its  leg  in  exactly 
the  same  manner  as  we  find  mites  attached  to  ants  and  to  other  in- 
sects at  the  present  time.  This  is  the  only  known  case,  according  to  Dr. 
W.  M.  Wheeler,  of  actual  parasitism  in  these  Oligocene  insects. 

The  present  distribution  of  the  two  species  of  hookworms  which 
parasitize  man,  Ancylostoma  duodenale  and  Necator  americaniis,  in- 
dicates^ a prior  occurrence  of  these  species  in  the  anthropoid  ancestors 
of  the  human  race.  The  dispersal,  as  seen  from  present  evidences,  was 
evidently  from  an  Eurasiatic  race  of  pre-humans,  indicated  by  the 
Pithecanthropus  of  Java,  may  have  been  in  conjunction  with  the 
development  of  this  race  of  beings  from  which  man  of  the  Oriental  and 
Ethiopian  regions  sprung.  The  fossil  gibbon,  Proliopithecus,  emerging 
from  Holoarctic  Africa  may  have  been  not  only  the  parent  form  of  man, 
gibbon,  chimpanzee,  gorilla  and  orang-outang,  but  he  may  have  har- 
bored the  parent  form  from  which  have  arisen  the  different  hookworm 
species  which  at  the  present  day  infest  man  and  anthropoids.  This 
suggestion  is  supported  by  the  zoological  data  of  the  mammals  of  Asia. 
The  geography  of  disease  will  thus  need  to  be  rewritten  to  include  the 
facts  and  suggestions  of  Paleopathology,  and  especially  the  deductions 
based  on  the  dispersal  of  the  host  of  disease-producing  parasites. 

THEORETICAL  ASPECTS  OF  PALEOPATHOLOGY 

The  accompanying  table  is  intended  to  show  certain  possible  rela- 
tions of  parasites  to  early  hosts.  It  is  based  on  the  modern  hosts,  as 
given  by  Castellani,®  in  which  the  parasites,  or  parasite  carriers,  are 
known  to  produce  disease,  and  the  antiquity  of  these  hosts  in  geolog- 
ical time.  The  apparent  error  in  the  conception  is  that  we  do  not  know 
whether  parasites  attacked  the  early  representatives  of  their  modern 
hosts,  and  if  they  did  whether  the  antagonism  was  sufficient  to  cause 


* Samuel  T.  Darling:  1921 — The  Distribution  of  Hookworms  in  the  Zoological  Regions. 
Science,  N.S.,  vol.  LIII,  no.  1371,  323-324. 

® Castellani,  Aldo  and  Chalmers,  Albert  J.,  1913 — Manual  of  Tropical  Medicine. 


288 


PALEOPATHOLOGY 


disease.  The  idea  was  suggested  by  a diagram  in  a paper  by  Eccles  on 
“Parasitism  and  Natural  Selection”  and  is  incorporated  here.  The 
idea  is  given  for  what  it  may  be  worth.  There  is  very  little  evidence  to 
support  the  conception,  since  parasitic  reactions  are  most  often  in  soft 
parts  which  are  not  preserved  in  the  rocks.  We  do  know  however  that 
parasitism  began  very  early  and  doubtless  there  is  some  basis  for  the 
idea,  which  we  hope  will  be  filled  out  in  future  studies  of  this  problem. 

The  antiquity  of  parasitism  is  suggested  by  the  distribution  of 
Myxidium  lieberkuhni^  over  both  Europe  and  America  dating  from 
the  time  when  Lucius  lucius  attained  that  distribution  showing  that 
it  too  must  be  an  old  species,  and  like  its  host  have  remained  unmodi- 
fied through  a long  period. 

A somewhat  parallel  condition  is  found  in  the  Mallophaga,  the 
insect  parasite  of  birds,  where  a very  close  relation  exists  between 
parasite  and  host. 

Kellogg^  says:  “there  has  been  no  external  factor  at  work  tending  to 
modify  the  parasitic  species,  and  it  exists  today  in  its  ancient  form, 
common  to  the  newly  arisen  descendants  of  the  ancient  host.” 

A CASE  OE  PLEISTOCENE  PARASITISM 

An  interesting  form  of  parasitism  which  causes  malformation  not 
uncommon  among  modern  decapod  Crustacea  is  a swelling  of  the 
branchial  cavity  due  to  the  presence  of  a parasitic  Isopod  of  the  family 
Bopyridae.  This  form  of  parasitism  has  been  encountered  in  two  cases 
of  Pleistocene  fossils  from  the  State  of  Washington,®  both  in  the  species 
Branchioplax  washingtoniana,  Rathbun.  This  species  occurs  at  the 
present  day  on  the  shores  of  Puget  Sound  and  presents  the  same  form 
of  parasitism,  being  an  interesting  case  of  a continuous  parasitic  condi- 
tion over  thousands  of  years. 

* James  W.  Mavor:  On  the  Occurrence  of  a Parasite  of  the  Pike  in  Europe,  Myxidium 
lieberkiihni  Biitschli,  in  the  Pike  on  the  American  Continent  and  its  Significance.  Biol.  Bull., 
no.  5,  1916,  376. 

’’  Vernon  L.  Kellogg:  Mallophaga  in  Genera  Insectorum,  1908,  66™'  fascicule,  p.  3. 

* Described  by  Miss  Mary  J.  Rathbun,  American  Journal  of  Science,  Volume  41,  1916, 
p.  345. 


CHAPTER  IX 


THE  BACTERIOLOGY  OF  PAST  GEOLOGICAL  AGES 

The  oldest  bacteria.  Bacteria  and  thread-mould  in  the  Devonian.  Bacteria  of  the  coal 
and  other  fossil  bacteria.  Coprolites  of  the  Autun  schists.  Bacteria  of  the  coprolites.  Fossil 
bacteria  analogous  to  those  which  produce  dental  caries.  Bacteria  in  the  American  Permian. 
Microscopic  observations  on  coprolites  from  the  American  Permian.  Descriptions  of  Figure 
26  and  Plates  LIX-LXV  illustrating  Chapters  VIII  and  IX.  Figure  26  and  Plates  LIX- 
LXV. 

It  will  of  course  be  evident,  with  but  little  consideration,  that  our 
knowledge  of  bacteria  of  past  ages  is  exceedingly  scanty,  and  our  con- 
clusions insecure.  It  seems,  however,  very  proper  to  record  in  this 
chapter  what  little  is  known  of  these  ancient  forms  of  life  and  to  deter- 
mine, if  possible,  their  relation  to  the  origin  of  disease.  There  are  two 
ways  in  which  we  may  gain  a knowledge  of  ancient  bacteria.  1).  By 
actual  observation  of  the  bacilh  or  cocci,  or  their  spores,  in  thin 
sections  of  rock.  2).  By  inferring  their  presence  from  results  which 
today  are  due  to  the  action  of  bacteria. 

The  determination  of  the  ovoid  and  rounded  bodies  in  a fossil  con- 
dition as  bacteria,  distrusted  at  first,  is  coming  to  be  recognized^  by 
bacteriologists  and  pathologists  although  it  must  still  be  constantly 
borne  in  mind  that  mistakes  are  more  likely  to  occur  in  this  branch  of 
investigation^  than  almost  any  other  phase  of  paleopathology;  a sub- 
ject entirely  beset  with  difi&culties. 

It  is  not  my  purpose  here  to  comment  on  the  origin®  and  evolution 
of  bacteria  but  merely  to  call  attention  to  their  possible  influence  in 


* J.  G.  Adami;  The  Antiquity  of  the  Bacteria  in  “Medical  Contributions  to  the  Study 
of  Evolution,”  pp.  16-18,  N.  Y.,  1918. 

^C.  E.  Bertrand:  Figures  bacteriformes  dues  d des  causes  diverses;  dpaississements  cel- 
lulaires,  plastides  liberees,  precipites  ferrugineux.  Ass.  franc.  Avanc.  Sc.  Congr.  LiUe,  pp. 
600-606,  1909. 

®H.  F.  Osborn:  Evolution  of  Bacteria,  in  “The  Origin  and  Evolution  of  Life,”  pp.  80- 
90,  N.  Y.,  1917. 

R.  S.  Breed,  H.  J.  Conn  and  J.  C.  Baker:  Comments  on  the  Evolution  and  Classification 
of  Bacteria.  J.  Bacteriol.,  Balt.,  iii,  no.  5,  445-459. 

R.  E.  Buchanan:  Bacterial  Phylogeny  as  indicated  by  modern  Types.  Amer.  Natural- 
ist, LII,  233-246,  1918. 


289 


290 


PALEOPATHOLOGY 


the  origin  of  zymotic  diseases'^  and  to  show  their  presence  in  the  work 
of  life  at  a very  early  time. 

THE  OLDEST  BACTERIA 

Germs  are  among  the  oldest  inhabitants  of  the  earth.  It  has  ever 
been  suggested  that  while  the  earth  was  still  in  the  process  of  building 
by  the  accretion  of  meteorites  bacteria  were  carried  to  the  earth  frorc 
distant  planets  and  thus  initiated  life  on  earth.  However  this  may  be 
bacteria  have  actually  been  found  in  the  oldest  fossil  bearing  rocks 
of  North  America,  having  been  discovered  in  1914  by  Dr.  Charles  D 
Walcott.  These  were  found  in  association  with  algal  deposits  of  the 
Newland  limestone,  a formation  of  the  Beltian  series  of  Algonkian 
(Pre-Cambrian)  rocks  of  central  Montana.  Walcott  had  previously 
suspected  the  activity  of  bacteria  as  an  important  factor  in  the  deposi- 
tion of  the  Algonkian  limestones.^  This  curious  activity'  of  recent 
bacteria  has  been  noted  by  Drew®  and  is  an  interesting  commentary' 
on  the  persistence  of  a single  ty'pe  of  life  with  similar  acthdties  during 
the  entire  period  of  geological  time.  Walcott  announced  his  discovery'^ 
the  following  year^  and  later  discussed  the  bacteria  in  their  relation  to 
primitive  life®  as  revealed  by  Pre-Cambrian  and  Cambrian  fossils.  His 
results  were  received  with  the  greatest  interest.  While  not  directly 
related  to  disease  his  discovery  reveals  the  presence  of  a type  of  life  so 
important  to  disease,  at  the  very  beginning  of  the  geological  history'  of 
animals. 

The  form  of  these  most  ancient  germs  is  so  similar  (Plate  LX) 
to  that  of  recent  bacteria  that  they  are  referred  to  the  Micrococcus,  a 
common  recent  bacterial  form.  Considerable  comment  has  been 
aroused  as  to  the  possibility  of  such  delicate  organisms  as  bacteria 
being  capable  of  preservation  in  a fossilized  condition.  This  is,  how- 

‘ J.  G.  Adami;  The  Antiquity  of  Zymotic  Diseases  in  “Medical  Contributions  to  the 
Study  of  Evolution”  pp.  15-16,  N.  Y.,  1918. 

The  Antiquity  of  Disease;  What  the  Fossils  Reveal  to  Paleopathplogists.  Current 
Comment  in  J.  Am.  Med.  Assn.,  Chicago,  Ixxi,  p.  1829,  1918. 

® C.  D.  Walcott:  Pre-Cambrian  Algonkian  Algal  Flora.  Smithson.  Misc.  Coll.,  Wash., 
Ixiv,  no.  2,  no.  2271,  pp.  94-95,  1914. 

® G.  Harold  Drew:  On  the  Precipitation  of  Calcium  Carbonate  in  the  Sea  by  Marine 
Bacteria,  and  on  the  Action  of  Denitrifying  Bacteria  in  Tropical  and  Temperate  Seas. 

Papers  from  the  Tortugas  Laboratory  of  the  Carnegie  Institution  of  Washington,  v, 
7-45,  1914. 

’’  C.  D.  Walcott:  Discovery  of  Algonkian  Bacteria.  Proc.  Natl.  Acad.  Sci.,  i,  256,  figs. 
2-3,  1915. 

® C.  D.  Walcott:  Evidences  of  Primitive  Life.  Smithson.  Rept.  for  1915,  241,  pi.  4, 1915. 


GEOLOGICAL  BACTERIOLOGY 


291 


ver,  pretty  definitely  settled  by  investigators  in  other  lines  who  have 
hown  that  fossil  brains,  fossil  flowers,  fossil  blood  cells,  muscle  and 
:idney  structures  are  known  to  be  so  well  preserved  as  to  permit  an 
examination  of  the  minute  structure  of  the  tissues.  Renault  and  Van 
rieghem,  too,  have  shown  that  bacteria  in  later  geological  ages  are 
■apable  of  perfect  preservation. 

Disease,  however,  did  not  exist  with  the  most  ancient  bacteria. 
They  were  harmless,  as  are  most  of  the  present-day  bacteria.  Whether 
bacterial  organisms  were  instrumental  in  effecting  the  origin  of  dis- 
jase  we  do  not  know.  This  is  a wide  field  of  study  which  has  not  yet 
)een  explored.  In  a later  geological  period  bacteria  have  been  found 
n partially  decayed  bone,  together  with  thread  mould  and  other  types 
)f  fungi.  This  condition,  however,  cannot  be  regarded  as  disease  but  as 
decay  in  dead  material.  The  earliest  animals  were  apparently  free  from 
disease,  although  they  were  subject  to  injuries  incident  to  the  life  of 
any  creature. 

The  bacteria  discovered  by  Walcott  (Plate  LX)  consisted  of  in- 
dividual cells  and  apparent  chains  of  cells  which  correspond  in  their 
physical  appearance  with  the  cells  of  Micrococcus.  Analogous  forms 
of  bacteria  are  commonly  seen  in  many  recent  diseases. 

This  was  not  the  earliest  discovery  of  bacteria  in  a fossil  state,  how- 
ever, since  Van  Tieghem®  had  described  Paleozoic  bacteria  in  1879. 
These  were  found  in  silicified  vegetable  remains  from  the  Coal  Measures 
of  St.  Etienne,  France,  where  the  cellulose  membranes  showed  traces  of 
fermentation  such  as  is  produced  by  bacilli  at  the  present  day.  Since 
that  time  a number  of  interesting  papers  have  appeared  from  the  pens 
of  Van  Tieghem  and  RenaulP®  who  found  bacteria  in  all  kinds  of 
vegetable  and  animal  debris.  Renault  has  incorporated  his  results  in  a 
volume  which  is  referred  to  more  extensively  in  a succeeding  section  of 
this  chapter. 

BACTERIA  AND  THREAD-MOULD  IN  THE  DEVONIAN 

The  presence  of  bacteria  in  the  middle  Paleozoic  was  announced  by 
Renault  (1896.2)  based  on  the  study  of  plant  and  animal  material 
from  the  Devonian  schists  of  Staasfeld.  Bacteria  are  thus  not  confined 
to  the  Carboniferous  since  they  have  been  described  from  organic 
remains  in  the  upper  Devonian  and  are  known  as  Micrococcus  devoni- 

’ Clement  Reid:  Art.  Paleobotany  in  “Ency.  Britan.,”  11th  ed.,  1911,  p.  525. 

These  papers  are  listed  by  Erwin  F.  Smith:  Bacteria  in  Relation  to  Plant  Diseases. 
Carnegie  Inst.  Wash.,  Publ.  27,  Vol.  1,  1905. 


292 


PALEOPATHOLOGY 


in  two  varieties.  These  microorganisms  were  found  in  portion 
of  the  plant  Cordaixylon.  In  a transverse  section  of  the  wood  certaii 
vascular  spaces  are  occupied  by  spherical  bodies,  slightly  reddish  ii 
color,  measuring  when  not  deformed  from  2.2  to  3 microns  in  diameter 
Occasionally  they  present  the  appearance  of  Diplococci,  being  oftei 
found  aggregated  in  masses  of  irregular  shape  resulting  from  thei 
disintegration.  These  bacteria  of  Devonian  age  (Plate  LXIV)  are  thu: 
seen  to  be  microorganisms  of  disintegration  of  dead  tissue  and  are  no 
known  to  be  related  to  disease. 

Similar  observations  have  been  recorded  by  the  author^  when  hf 
noted  the  presence  of  mould  and  bacteria  in  the  almost  disrupted  lacu 
nar  spaces  of  the  ancient  vertebrates,  Bothriolepis  and  Coccosteus,  fron 
the  Devonian  of  Canada  and  Scotland. 

The  occurrence  of  thread  moulds  {Mycelites  ossifragus)  in  the  hare 
parts  of  invertebrates  and  vertebrates,^®  from  molluscs  to  man,  haj 
been  noted  for  more  than  eighty  years  and  the  hterature  is  very  ex- 
tensive. The  canals  made  by  the  penetrating  moulds,  known  as  the 
canals  of  Roux  or  Wedl,  have  been  noted  by  Kolliker  in  the  hard  parts  oi 
invertebrates,  fossil  and  recent;  by  Triepel  in  recent  human  bones;  by 
Schaffer  in  ancient  human  teeth;  by  Senders  in  a Neolithic  skull;  and 
by  Roux  in  the  skeletal  parts  of  vertebrates.  Carboniferous  to  recent. 
Since  they  occur  likewise  in  the  hard  parts  of  Devonian  vertebrates 
they  doubtless  have  a very  wide  distribution  and  may-  be  regarded 
as  one  of  the  most  ancient  types  of  organisms  in  existence. 

There  is  nothing  peculiar  in  their  existence  in  the  ancient  vertebrates 
except  that  their  course  of  growth  is  modified  by  the  histology  of  the 
ancient  bone.  In  the  absence  of  definite  lamellae  the  mycelia  often 
seek  out  a lacuna,  enter  it  and  growing  out  in  the  direction  of  the 
brief  canaliculi  expand  both  the  lacuna  and  canaliculi  until  the  entire 
structure  is  disrupted  and  the  canals  meet  other  canals  growing  out  from 
adjoining  lacunae.  In  modern  human  bone  the  mycelia  very-  often 
follow  the  interlamellar  spaces,  but  ancient  bone  seldom  has  any 
definite  spaces  of  this  kind,  and  more  often  fossil  bone  tissue  is  to  be 

B.  Renault:  Sur  quelques  Microorganismes  des  combustibles  fossiles,  BuU.  de  la  Soc. 
de  rindustrie  Minerale  xiv.  pp.  351-353,  pi.  xxv,  figs.  11-14. 

*“Roy  L.  Moodie:  Thread  Moulds  and  Bacteria  in  the  Devonian.  Science,  X.  S.,  LI, 
no.  1305,  14-15,  January  2nd,  1920. 

References  to  the  literature  and  a more  complete  account  of  these  moulds  is  given 
by  the  author  in  his  paper:  “The  Elements  of  the  Haversian  Sj’^tem  in  normal  and  pathologi- 
cal Structures  among  fossil  Vertebrates.”  Wniiston  Memorial  Volume.  Since  their  relation 
to  disease  is  very  uncertain  further  discussion  of  them  vi'Ol  not  be  given  here. 


GEOLOGICAL  BACTERIOLOGY 


293 


jgarded  as  an  osteoid  substance  without  any  lamellae  and  with  only 
mattered  lacunae.  That  the  appearance  of  the  described  lacunae  is 
pt  normal  is  easily  checked  by  a study  of  normal  lacunae  in  the  ad- 
icent  material.  A single  microscopic  field  (Plate  LXIV)  will  show 
oth  normal  and  invaded  lacunae.  The  canals,  from  2-4  microns  in 
iiameter,  have  an  undulating  course  and  offer  easy  channels  of  entrance 
p invading  bacteria. 

I The  presence  of  these  thread  moulds  would  seem  to  indicate  that 
he  piece  of  bone  showing  them  was  preserved  in  a moist,  sandy  or 
luddy  place  close  to  the  shore,  thus  agreeing  with  our  previous 
inceptions  of  the  preservation  of  fossil  material.  It  is  difficult  to  see 
■ow  the  moulds  would  find  entrance  if  the  material  were  embedded 
.nder  sand  or  silt  in  deep  water.  The  ancient  Egyptian  mummies, 
luried  for  thousands  of  years  in  the  dry,  hot  sands  of  the  Nubian  des- 
rts  do  not  show  such  canals,  nor- do  the  Cretaceous  vertebrates  from 
Cansas  show  them.  Seitz  has  figured  them,  though  he  apparently  did 
lot  recognize  their  nature,  in  the  bones  of  labyrinthodonts  and  dino- 
aurs.  They  have  also  been  seen  in  sections  of  the  vertebra  of  an 
American  sauropod  dinosaur. 

I The  bacteria  (Plate  LXIV)  doubtless  have  entered  the  bone  along 
he  course  of  the  Canals  of  Roux  and  may  readily  be  detected  by  the 
)eady,  nodular  appearance  of  the  canal. Often  the  bacteria,  in 
3othriolepis  for  instance,  have  invaded  a canaliculus  which  the  Mycelites 
lid  not  find.  The  small  clumps,  or  nodes,  may  clearly  be  regarded  as 
i.olonies  of  bacteria  and  doubtless  a form  of  Micrococcus,  and  related  to 
hose  described  by  Renault  in  the  dentinal  tubules  of  Permian  fishes. 
The  beady  appearance  of  an  invaded  canal  of  Roux  or  canaliculus  re- 
alls  exactly  the  picture  of  the  invaded  dentinal  tubules  in  cases  of 
iiuman  dental  caries.^® 

j While  these  conditions  are  not  to  be  regarded  as  disease  but  rather 
■is  the  agents  of  decay  yet  they  so  closely  resemble  conditions  of  dis- 
ease and  they  are  so  ancient  it  is  thought  worth  while  to  incorporate 
:hem. 

Adolf  Leo  Lud-wig  Seitz:  Vergleichende  Studien  fiber  den  mikroskopischen  Knochen- 
lau  fossiler  und  rezenter  ReptUien  unddessen  Bedeutung  fiir  das  Wachstum  und  Umbildung 
!es  Knochengewebes  im  aUgemeinen.  Nova  Acta.  Abh.  d.  Kaiserl.  Leop. -Carol.  Deutschen 
Ikad.  d.  Naturforscher.  Halle.  Lxxxvii,  no.  2,  pi.  xi,  fig.  6,  1907. 

, The  condition  in  these  ancient  carapaces  is  identical  with  the  occurrence  of  bacteria 
n the  scales  and  teeth  of  Permian  fishes  described  b}'^  Renault : Sur  quelques  Microorganismes 
tc.,  p.  213,  fig.  37. 

**  F.  B.  Noyes:  Dental  Histology,  fig.  19. 


294 


PALEOPATHOLOGY 


BACTERIA  OF  THE  COAL  AND  OTHER  FOSSIL  BACTERIA 

Our  knowledge  of  the  bacteriology  of  the  geological  ages  succeed- 
ing the  Devonian  is  due  largely  to  the  work  of  Bernard  Renault, whc 
summarized  his  researches  and  those  of  his  associates  in  France  in  a 
magnificent  work,  on  the  microorganisms  (Plate  LXII)  of  the  coal 
This  work  gives  the  results  of  24  years  of  acthdty  and  will  serve  foi 
all  time  as  a monument  to  its  author.  He  defines  Microorganisms  aj 
the  microscopic  remains  of  plants  and  animals  which  have  been  de- 
termined in  the  fossil  fuel. 

Renault  has  divided  his  study  into  nine  sections: 

1) .  Study  of  the  Microorganisms  of  some  peats. 

2) .  Study  of  the  Microorganisms  of  some  lignites. 

3) .  Study  of  the  Microorganisms  of  some  recent  bituminous  schists. 

4) .  Study  of  the  Microorganisms  of  some  Bogheads.  (Coal). 

5) .  Study  of  the  Microorganisms  of  some  Cannels. 

6) .  Study  of  the  Microorganisms  of  some  coals. 

7) .  Study  of  the  Microorganisms  of  some  ancient  bituminous  schists. 

8) .  Study  of  the  Microorganisms  preserved  by  silicification. 

9) .  Conclusions. 

Since  in  these  discussions  he  has  defined  the  bacteria  found  in 
coprolites,  or  petrified  feces  (Plate  LXI)  of  fishes  and  reptiles,  as  well 
as  in  ancient  ichthyodorulites,  or  fragments  of  bone  isolated  in  the 
rock,  Renault’s  work  is  of  fundamental  importance  to  a study  of 
Paleopathology.  In  stom-ach  contents  and  in  the  teeth  and  jaws  of 
fossil  vertebrates  Renault  found  evidence  of  bacteria.  Especially  im- 
portant is  his  discussion  of  the  early  occurrence  of  caries  due,  as  he 
thought,  to  five  t}^es  of  bacteria.  This  interpretation  was  based  on  the 
study  of  decayed  spots  within  the  substance  of  bones  and  teeth  of  fos- 
sil fishes.  He  named  the  bacillus  wEich  seemed  most  active  in  this  dis- 
ease Bacillus  lepidophagns  arcuatus. 

That  the  reader  may  have  at  his  command  the  results  of  Renault  I 
am  devoting  the  following  pages  to  a free  translation  of  his  work  re- 
garding the  bacteria  and  fungi  (Plate  LXII)  of  the  ancient  bituminous 
schists  of  the  Permian  of  Autun,  France,  beginning  with  his  discussion 
of  the: 

B.  Renault:  Sur  quelques  Microorganismes  des  Combustibles  fossUes.  Bull.  Soc.  de 
I’Industrie  Minerale  Saint  Etienne.  Tome  xiii,  1899;  Tome  xiv,  1900.  With  a folio  volume 
of  21  plates  containing  nearly  300  microphotographs  of  the  minute  plant  and  animal  forms, 
chiefly  bacteria  and  fungi. 


GEOLOGICAL  BACTERIOLOGY 


295 


COPROLITES  OF  THE  AUTUN  SCHISTS 

i Fishes,  reptiles  and  amphibians  inhabited  the  Autun  lake  during  the 
jntire  time  of  its  silting  up,  as  is  abundantly  proven  by  the  great  num- 
bers of  scales,  fins,  and  bones  which  are  found  at  all  levels. 

I The  researches  of  Gaudry^®  have  rendered  classic  the  discoveries 
j^hich  that  noted  scholar  made  among  the  fossil  reptiles  of  Igornay, 
iVlargenne,  and  Thelots.  He  also  called  our  attention  to  the  consider- 
i,hle  quantity  of  organic  matter,  fats,  oils,  nitrogenous  and  cartilaginous 
ubstances,  which  had  resulted  from  the  creatures  enclosed  within  the 
■chists.  The  majority  of  these  substances  had  disappeared,  but  the  re- 
sistance of  fatty  substances  to  decomposition,  especially  when  deprived 
)f  air,  is  well  known.  It  is  therefore  not  impossible  that  although  more 
i)r  less  modified  they  contributed  to  the  formation  of  the  products  pro- 
duced by  distillation. 

£ It  has  already  been  remarked  that  the  microscope  fails  to  show 
lacteria  in  the  mineral  portion  of  the  schists,  but  these  schists  likewise 
};ontain  a number  of  coprolites  of  fishes  and  reptiles  which  serve  as  very 
favorable  media  for  the  multiplication  of  these  minute  organisms.  A 
|[iumber  of  these  are  figured,  showing  the  distribution  of  microorgan- 
isms within  these  fecal  remains  (Plate  LXI). 

' BACTERIA  OF  THE  COPROLITES 

' It  is  well  known  that  certain  fishes  have  in  their  rectum  a spiral 
valve  which  gives  to  the  extruded  feces  (Plate  LXI)  an  irregular 
sllipsoidal  form,  with  characteristic  markings. 

Rarely  coprolites  are  found  isolated  in  the  schists,  the  greater 
■number  being  assembled  in  certain  areas,  as  if  the  fishes  had  lived  in 
swarms  in  the  old  Permian  lake.  Frequently,  on  sectioning  (Plate 
LXIII)  a coprolite,  one  finds  remains  of  bone  and  scales  of  variable 
'size,  of  small  teeth,  morsels  of  food;  the  residue  of  the  process  of 
digestion.  The  presence  of  all  these  solid  parts  has  contributed  to  the 
preservation  of  the  coprolite  and  in  them  are  found  various  types  of 
bacteria. 

I 

Albert  Gaudry — a noted  French  vertebrate  paleontologist,  1827-1908.  His  interests 
were  largely  philosophic  and  his  investigations  resulted  in  the  publication  of  two  important 
evolutionary  works:  Enchainenient  du  Monde  animal  dans  les  temps  geologiques,  and  Essai  de 
Paleontologie  philosophique.  These  are  most  useful  presentations  of  paleontological  facts  of 
evolutionary  significance.  Gaudry  was  an  earnest  worker  and  produced  some  218  contribu- 
tions to  paleontological  and  geological  literature.  In  1872  Gaudry  became  professor  in  the 
Museum  of  Natural  History  in  Paris,  was  a member  of  the  Geological  societj''  of  France  and  a 
member  of  the  Institute. 


296 


PALEOPATHOLOGY 


The  state  of  alteration  of  the  bones  within  the  coprolites  is  ex- 
tremely variable.  Often  the  osseous  lacunae  are  preserved  entire, 
again  they  are  unrecognizable  and  appear  as  a homogeneous  mass. 

A preparation  of  fossil  bone  (Plate  LXIII  and  LXV)  serves  to 
show  the  excellent  preservation  in  which  one  finds  the  fragments 
of  fossil  tissue.  For  anatomical  purposes  one  is  compelled  to  inject 
coloring  materials  in  order  to  show  in  recent  bone  the  canahculi  of  the 
lacunae.  In  the  fossil  the  injection  has  been  made  by  the  blood  of  the 
organism,  which  on  fossihzation  becomes  black  and  opaque.  The 
lacunae  are  polyhedral,  longer  in  one  direction;  some  of  them  attaining 
a maximum  length  of  13  microns,  the  shortest  4 microns.  The  canah- 
culi have  a diameter  of  9 microns  at  the  point  of  origin,  but  after  two  or 
three  divisions  the  diameter  is  reduced  to  2 microns.  Renault  searched 
in  vain  for  blood  corpuscles^®  in  the  great  vessels,  but  the  coagulated 
mass  is  entirely  opaque. 

The  diameter  of  the  canalicuh,  radiating  out  from  the  lacunae,  is 
too  narrow  to  allow  the  passage  of  blood  corpuscles,  but  suflhciently 
large,  near  the  cavity  of  the  lacuna,  to  permit  the  entrance  of  micrococ- 
cids  (Plate  LIU).  By  referring  to  figure  b,  plate  LXIII  one  sees  the 
methods  of  formation  of  the  first  and  second  types  of  anastomoses  of  the 
canaliculi.  Where  the  cell  is  best  in  focus  the  canalicuh  measure  1 
micron.  At  this  point  they  are  filled  ■with  Micrococci  of  which  some 
measure  0.8  and  others  0.5  microns.  Often  they  are  so  close  together  as 
to  touch  and  form  a continuous  line.  It  seems  that  the  Cocci  of  small 
size  began  to  augment  the  diameter  of  the  canalicuh,  which  were  thus 
enabled  to  receive  those  of  larger  size.  In  plate  LXIII,  fig.  b,  the  canali- 
cuh are  shown  notably  enlarged  and  filled  with  jMicrococci.  But  in 
many  of  the  canalicuh,  together  with  the  Cocci  there  are  numerous 
droplets  of  sohdified  substance  which  one  may  easily  confuse  with  the 
bacteria.  These  droplets  often  take  an  elongate  form,  exhibiting  very 
unequal  dimensions,  often  closely  comparable  to  those  of  the  Micro- 
cocci. Their  primitive  fluid  state  has  permitted  them  to  unite  and  often 
to  completely  fill  some  of  the  canalicuh. 

Other  examples  of  a similar  vascular  network,  which  are  very  well 
preserved,  though  not  often  found  in  coprolites,  but  which  accompany 
them  in  the  schists,  are  in  the  Ickthyodondithes,  or  isolated  fragments  of 
fossil  fish  bone.  These  objects  often  represent  portions  of  fins  or  fin 
rays  such  as  those  which  support  the  dorsal  fins  and  have  acquired  a 

**  The  possibilities  of  the  structures  being  fossilized  is  discussed  bj'the  author:  Concern- 
ing the  Fossilization  of  Blood  Corpuscles.  Amer.  Naturalist,  LIV,  460—164,  1 fig.  1920. 


GEOLOGICAL  BACTERIOLOGY 


297 


lotable  development  in  placoid  fishes  of  the  elasmobranch  group,  such 
LS  the  genera:  Onchus,  Ctenodus,  Byssacanthus,  Pleur acanthus,  etc. 
The  ichthyodorulite  which  we  shall  describe  belongs  to  the  genus 
°leur acanthus,  and  was  discovered  in  the  same  beds  by  Roche,  as  were 
he  coprolites  of  Igornay,  at  a depth  of  150  feet. 

Renault  calls  attention  to  a section  (Plate  XXVII,  fig.  8 of  his 
, nonograph)  which  is  shown  at  an  enlargement  of  200  diameters.  It  is  a 
;angential  section  through  the  cortical  region  of  an  Ichthyodorulite  and 
:s  extremely  rich  in  vascular  networks,  which,  as  seen  in  the  photomicro- 
.^raph,  are  already  distorted  by  bacteria;  shown  in  detail  at  a higher 
nagnification  in  his  Figure  9.  One  may  thus  distinguish  in  an  exam- 
ination of  this  material  many  rami  with  smaller  branches  which  ap- 
oarently  retain  the  same  diameter  throughout.  The  smaller  branches 
either  anastomose  to  form  a closed  network  or  at  other  times  end 
abruptly.  The  portion  of  network  figured  by  Renault  shows  near  the 
center  a union  of  numerous  inferior  and  superior  branches;  not  clearly 
shown  in  the  photograph  because  of  the  depth  of  focus  required  to  show 
the  union.  At  other  points  these  rami  are  in  communication  with  the 
canahculi,  apparently  analogous  with  those  which  unite  the  lacunae 
with  each  other.  The  rami  of  the  principal  plexus,  of  which  only  a 
part  is  figured,  measure  6-7  microns  in  diameter.  They  are  filled  with  a 
brownish  substance,  in  the  midst  of  which  are  found  clear,  colorless, 
I'jpherical,  ovoid  or  slightly  cylindrical  bodies,  the  diameters  of  which 
vary  from  1.6-6  microns.  These  globules  recall  those  which  had  al- 
•eady  been  described  by  Renault  as  derived  from  the  blood,  but  their 
contours  are  better  defined.  There  are  to  be  seen  in  the  midst  of  these 
globules  coccoid  forms  which  Renault  is  inclined  to  regard  as  M icrococ- 
:us.  It  is  apparent  that  the  globules  are  not  the  result  of  disorganiza- 
jion  of  the  adjacent  osseous  material,  but  that  they  were  contained  in  the 
substance,  black  when  petrified,  which  had  filled  the  plexus  during 
ife.  This  was  possibly  blood  or  a fluid  derived  from  the  blood. 

Renault  then  shows  (Renault’s  Figures  5 and  7,  plate  xxvi)  the 
cavities  of  the  lacunae  enlarged  and  distorted,  quite  the  same  as  in  the 
oone  fragments  preserved  in  coprolites.  The  disturbing  agent  was  the 
pacteria.  In  the  interior  of  the  lacunae  there  is  a yellowish  material, 
I little  darker  than  the  periphery.  This  is  continued,  -without  inter- 
ruption, into  the  canaliculi.  No  micrococci  can  be  detected  in  this 
naterial.  When  they  do  contain  some  such  figures  they  are  of  an  ovoid 
)r  irregular  form,  a little  larger  than  the  size  of  the  Cocci,  and  doubt- 
ully  related  to  them. 


298 


PALEOPATHOLOGY 


The  concentric  osseous  lamellae,  which  occur  around  the  lacunae, 
are  not  distinct.  It  is  clear  that  Cocci  are  more  abundant  in  the  re- 
gions of  the  canaliculi  near  the  lacunae.  They  are  also  found  at  points 
where  the  diameter  of  the  canalicuH  are  slightly  enlarged. 

Certain  sections  (Renault’s  Figures  6 & 8,  Plate  xx\d)  show  the 
complete  disorganization  of  the  lacunae  and  their  canaliculi  have  dis- 
appeared. In  the  resulting  amorphous  material  the  spherical  bodies 
are  seen,  unequal  in  size,  arranged  in  lines,  scattered;  the  small  yellow 
masses  irregular.  It  is  difficult  to  decide  on  the  nature  of  the  spherical 
bodies  as  well  as  the  irregular  ones.  Perhaps  they  are  the  result  of 
bacterial  activity  on  the  softer  material  which,  in  fife,  was  contained 
within  the  lacunae.  There  are  numerous  spherical  masses,  similar  to 
Micrococci,  which  may  be  distinguished  from  the  true  Cocci  by  their 
size  of  4 microns,  as  well  as  by  their  reddish-brown  tinge  which  is 
darker  than  that  of  the  Cocci. 

Thus  it  is  clear  that  the  lacunae  of  scales  and  bone  are  invaded  by 
bacteria,  one  after  another,  by  means  of  the  canaliculi;  ending  in  the 
complete  disorganization  of  the  osseous  material,  and  taking  on  the 
form  of  an  amorphous  mass,  holding  the  bacteria  in  suspension,  as  well 
as  the  spherical  and  irregular  masses.  Often  this  invaded  osseous 
material  was  accompanied  in  certain  structures,  such  as  scales,  teeth, 
Ichthyodorulites,  etc.,  by  layers  of  dentine  or  enamel.  The  lacunae  of 
dentine  have  a different  form  from  those  of  the  osseous  lacunae.  They 
are  prismatic,  and  each  one  is  traversed  axially  by  an  extremely  minute 
canaliculus. 

There  are  found  in  such  substances  (Plate  LXV)  in  the  lacunae, 
when  cut  parallel,  an  invasion  of  Micrococci  w^hich  have  entered  a canali- 
culus of  which  the  diameter  is  0.8  microns.  The  cavity  of  the  prismatic 
lacunae  is  occupied  by  a Micrococcus  of  different  size,  representing  a 
distinct  variety.  Similar  instances  of  the  occurrence  of  INIicrococci  have 
been  seen  in  the  dermal  shields  of  certain  fish-hke  vertebrates  from  the 
Devonian  of  America. 

Bacilli  seem  to  be  more  abundant  in  fragments  of  scales  than  the 
Micrococci.  Renault  has  distinguished  the  following  varieties  oi 
Micrococcus,  which  he  has  grouped  under  the  name  Micrococcus  lepi- 
dophagus. 

Micrococcus  lepidophagus,  Var.  a. — Spherical  cells  with  cleai 
contours,  often  presenting  themselves  under  the  aspect  of  a cloud) 
mass  composed  of  small  black  dots  which  measure  from  0.  4 to  0.: 


GEOLOGICAL  BACTERIOLOGY 


299 


.nicrons  in  diameter.  They  are  often  disposed  in  linear  chains  of  from 
I to  4 individuals. 

Micrococcus  lepidophagus,  var.  g.- — Spherical  cells  with  contours  clear 
ind  colored;  the  interior  sometimes  deeper  in  color.  They  measure 
).8  microns.  They  are  found  distributed  in  groups  of  two  and  four. 
Micrococcus  lepidophagus,  var.  b. — Spherical  cells  with  contours  clear 
md  colored,  measuring  1.2  microns.  This  variety  may  easily  be  con- 
tused with  the  preceding  and  they  are  often  found  together. 
Micrococcus  lepidophagus,  var.  c. — Spherical  cells  with  very  clear  con- 
tours. The  envelope  is  colored  a clear  brown;  the  contents  clear  with- 
out granulations;  the  diameter  attaining  3.2  microns.  It  is  not  rare  to 
and  these  spherical  cells  divided  by  a partition  or  again,  united  in 
pairs.  This  variety  does  not  have  the  tendency  to  form  in  groups  or 
chains,  although  often  the  globules  are  very  close  to  each  other  and  are 
even  aligned  in  the  canaliculi  of  the  lacunae  in  the  dentine. 

These  varieties  are  found,  often  isolated,  in  distinct  lacunae  of  the 
dentine;  their  action  on  the  lacunae  being  independent  and  starting 
at  different  times. 

A certain  number  of  the  canaliculi  are  empty;  others  occupied  by 
the  very  small  Micrococci,  var.  a;  others  filled  by  a mixture  of  many 
species.  Propagation  of  bacteria  in  the  dentine  or  enamel  portion  of 
scales  is  made  possible  by  the  small  canals  connecting  the  vascular 
channels,  or  by  the  canaliculi  of  the  lacunae  in  the  ivory.  In  this  latter 
case,  the  variety  a,  alone,  is  able  to  enter  readily.  One  often  sees  in  the 
nterior  of  many  lacunae  unique  linear  strings  of  bacteria,  formed  of 
this  variety.  When  the  work  of  destruction  has  been  sufficiently  ad- 
vanced, other  bacteria  of  a larger  diameter  are  enabled  to  enter;  this  is 
especially  true  of  those  regions  which  are  greatly  altered,  where  it  is 
possible  to  identify  the  four  varieties  indicated  above. 

; As  for  lacunae  of  true  bone,  the  dentinal  lacunae  appear  to  have 
jjuffered  a complete  alteration  and  the  canaliculi  have  completely  dis- 
appeared and  the  boundaries  of  the  lacunae  obliterated. 

1 It  is  impossible  to  identify  fossil  bacteria  with  the  different  living 
j;pecies,  since  in  identif)dng  these  one  must  know  not  only  their  external 
orm  but  their  cultural  characteristics.  We  do  not  possess  other  terms 
)f  comparison  between  living  and  fossil  bacteria  than  those  of  form  and 
he  resemblance  in  the  similarity  of  products  of  destruction. 

The  relations  of  these  bacteria  and  their  results  of  disintegration  of 
lentine  point  an  analogy  to  dental  caries  and  Renault  devotes  a sec- 
ion,  which  we  shall  freely  translate,  to: 


I 


300 


PALEOPATHOLOGY 


FOSSIL  BACTERIA  ANALOGOUS  TO  THOSE  WHICH 
PRODUCE  DENTAL  CARIES 

Here  we  meet  for  the  first  time  in  geological  history  with  bacteria 
which  appear  to  be  definitely  related  to  disease.  In  the  Permian 
coprolites  from  Igornay,  Renault  found  in  the  fragments  of  scales  four 
types  of  Micrococci.  Other  coprohtes  from  the  same  locahty,  however, 
contain  bacteria  having  a shape  and  form  similar  to  those  producing 
dental  caries,  as  recognized  by  several  scholars. 

The  phosphate  of  lime,  softened  by  the  bacterial  activity,  has  be- 
come sufficiently  plastic  so  that  the  external  outUne  of  the  lacunae  has 
disappeared,  allowing  a minghng  of  the  contents  of  adjacent  lacunae. 

A section,  cutting  a number  of  scale  fragments  in  a coprohte,  shows 
the  cellular  space  filled  with  numerous  bacteria. 

In  certain  places  in  the  section  the  periphery  of  a number  of  scales 
is  cut  and  one  may  distinguish  a number  of  grooves,  clearer  than  the 
interior  of  the  scale,  which  follow  more  or  less  faithfully  the  contour 
of  the  scale.  These  grooves  are  occupied  by  a great  number  of  bacteria 
in  which  the  Micrococci  are  represented  by  individuals  of  various  forms; 
some  look  like  spherical  globules  with  clearly  hmited  contours,  measur- 
ing 3.2  microns,  not  to  be  distinguished  from  M.  lepiodphagus  var.  c.; 
others  having  an  average  measurement  of  1.5  approach  in  resemblance 
the  M.  lepidophagus  var.  b.  There  are  also  e\ddent,  though  less  nu- 
merous, very  small  Micrococci  which  are  clearly  related  to  M.  lepidopha- 
gus var.  a. 

There  are  to  be  observed  scattered  among  these  different  species  of 
Micrococci  a large  number  of  Bacilh,  which  are  e\ddent  in  the  form  of 
black  colored  objects,  isolated,  rarely  double,  and  without  definite 
orientation. 

These  Bacilli,  which  Renault  designates  under  the  name  of  Bacillus 
lepidophagus,  are  rectangular  cylindrical  bodies,  having  a length  of 
4.2  to  5.2  microns;  their  diameter  varying  from  0.7  to  1 micron. 

There  are  also  evident  long  bacteria,  about  4 microns  in  length, 
having  a diameter  of  3 microns  vvMch  appear  to  be  a form  of  Bacterium, 
but  they  may  be  forms  of  Micrococcus  in  division. 

The  alteration  of  the  osseous  fragments  is  extremely  variable,  even 
in  the  same  coprolite;  often  one  can  distinguish  the  lacunae;  often  all 
structure  has  disappeared.  The  more  or  less  homogeneous  mass  which 
results  shows  along  the  edges  various  cavities  (Plate  LXIII)  and  canals 
derived  from  the  vascular  network,  and  which  are  fiUed  with  a brown 


GEOLOGICAL  BACTERIOLOGY 


301 


material.  In  this  part  are  found  the  greatest  number  of  bacteria,  chief 
imong  which  is  the  following  form: 

Bacillus  lepidophagus  arcuatus. — This  bacillus  measures  about  4 
microns  between  the  two  extremities;  the  shaft  attaining  a least 
diameter  of  1.4  microns.  Occasionally  these  Bacilli  are  curved,  measur- 
ng  about  2 microns  across  the  arc,  and  often  two  of  them  joined  to- 
gether end  to  end,  resemble  the  letter  S,  recalling  a Spirillus  in  form. 

Renault  shows  a section  (his  Plate  xxvi,  figs.  13,  14,  15)  of  some  of 
the  fragments  which  are  without  structure  but  which  exhibit  a con- 
siderable number  of  bacteria.  Some  of  them  are  bacilli  of  small  form, 
’ to  2.5  microns  in  length,  and  0.6  microns  in  diameter,  which  are 
cylindrical  with  rounded  extremities,  black  in  color  and  are  easily 
iistinguished  in  the  midst  of  the  osseous  pulp  which  is  of  a lighter 
color.  The  Micrococci  are  less  numerous.  They  are  perfectly  spherical, 
;ither  black  or  transparent,  with  clear  contours;  with  a diameter  of  1.3 
they  form  a part  of  the  group  designated  Micrococcus  lepidophagus 
/ar.  h. 

The  mass  includes  also  a great  number  of  irregularly  spherical  bodies 
)f  which  the  size  varies  from  2.6  to  4/z.  They  are  black  in  color  and  are 
inalogous  to  those  which  Renault  supposed  to  be  oily  droplets,  having 
)een  carbonized  from  a fluid  state.  This  hypothesis  is  justified  in  part 
it  least  by  the  inclusion  of  bacilli  more  or  less  within  the  interior  of  the 
'jlobules,  recalling  phagocytes  of  a very  ancient  epoch.  In  fact  this 
nay  be  the  only  known  example  of  phagocytosis. 

The  different  bacteria  which  have  been  mentioned  are  represented  by 
number  of  individuals  which  are  greatly  increased  in  that  region  where 
he  bone  is  not  yet  destroyed.  On  the  edges  of  the  fragments  traces 

If  vascular  channels  are  seen,  large  enough  to  permit  the  entrance  of 
lacteria.  No  Bacilli  have  been  seen  in  the  dentinal  tubules  of  the 
burnated  portion  of  the  scales,  the  bacteria  present  being  only  the 
licrococd.  One  may  suppose  that  the  bacilli  were  derived  from  the 
ndigested  substance  on  the  edges  of  the  coprolite.  The  species  which 
re  abundant  are  different  from  those  seen  in  the  interior  of  the  scales 
nd  resemble  those  seen  in  dentinal  tubules  and  in  the  osseous  part  of 
seth. 

Miller  has  described  five  different  types  of  recent  bacteria  as  causing 
ental  caries,  which  may  be  designated  by  the  letters  a,  b,  c,  d,  e.  The 

Iacteria  a and  b are  Cocci  or  Diplococci,  isolated  or  in  chain  formation, 
he  bacteria  b resembles  in  its  structure  a Bacteridium.  The  bacteria 
are  composed  of  very  small  cocci,  rarely  associated  in  chains.  The 


302 


PALEOPATHOLOGY 


Cocci  of  the  bacteria  d are  larger  than  those  of  group  c.  Finally  the 
bacteria  of  group  e represent  the  small  comma  bacteria.  When  two  of 
these  forms  are  adjacent  they  form  the  letter  S,  and  when  a great 
number  are  joined  together  they  resemble  the  Spirillus. 

On  placing  the  above  described  bacteria  on  uninfected  teeth  Miller 
has  obtained  artificial  caries  identical  with  spontaneous  caries.  One 
may  see  in  his  preparations,  as  well  as  in  the  fossil  sections  described  by 
Renault,  the  canaliculi  filled  with  bacteria. 

Galippe  and  Vignal  have  seen  in  caries  of  the  teeth:  1)  a short 
bacillus;  2)  a bacillus  twice  as  long  and  twice  the  diameter,  attaining 
a length  of  3 microns,  somewhat  constricted  in  the  middle;  3)  a bacillus 
resembling  the  preceding  but  without  the  constriction;  4)  a very 
short,  very  thin  bacillus,  almost  as  wide  as  long;  5)  a bacillus  with 
rounded  extremities,  with  a length  of  4.5  microns;  6)  numerous 
Micrococci  attaining  a length  of  5 microns. 

According  to  the  description  Renault  gives,  and  which  is  discussed 
above,  of  the  varieties  of  Micrococcus  lepidopkagus,  found  in  osseous 
eburnated  plates,  as  well  as  the  bacilh  either  evident  or  inferred  which 
accompany  them,  one  may  conclude  that  the  destruction  of  bone,  or 
eburnated  plates  and  teeth,  in  ancient  times,  was  performed  by  the  work 
of  Micrococci  and  Bacilli,  the  form  and  proportions  of  which  approach 
in  a remarkable  manner  those  of  bacteria  which,  at  the  present  day,  are 
the  cause  of  caries  of  bone  and  teeth. 

Renault  did  not  attempt  to  identify  the  fossil  species  which  he  de- 
scribed with  those  discussed  by  Miller,  Galippe  and  Vignal,  since  such 
a determination  could  be  controlled  only  by  means  of  cultures.  There  re- 
mains consequently  a doubt,  w^hich  is  impossible  to  settle,  as  to  whether 
the  means  of  destruction  in  fossil  and  recent  bones  and  teeth  is  due  to 
the  same  types  of  bacteria.  His  observations  are  extremely  important, 
however,  in  pointing  out  an  analogous  situation  in  paleopathology  in 
this  particular  case  of  caries;  a form  of  pathology'  easily  susceptible  of 
fossilization.  It  is,  of  course,  impossible  at  the  present  time  to  say 
whether  the  decayed  spots  seen  by  Renault  on  the  edges  of  bone,  scales 
and  teeth  are  the  result  of  caries  w'hile  the  animal  w'as  ahve,  or  whether 
it  is  merely  a state  in  the  disintegration  of  dead  material. 

It  is  interesting  to  note  the  abundance  of  bacteria,  ^Micrococci  and 
Bacilli  being  equally  abundant,  within  the  undigested  substance  arounc 
the  coprolites,  indicating  very  clearly  that  the  bacteria  had  developec 
within  this  food  substance  during  the  progress  of  digestion,  and  were 
preserved  on  account  of  their  being  enclosed  by  the  spiral  folding  o 


GEOLOGICAL  BACTERIOLOGY 


303 


he  undigested  portions.  They  are  found  irregularly  scattered  through- 
lut  all  of  the  covering  of  the  coprolite.  The  bacilli  are  regarded  by 
ilenault  as  belonging  to  several  species  which  he  has  designated: 
bacillus  permiensis,  B.  granosus,  B.  lallyensis  and  B.  flaccidus.  Since 
he  nature  of  these  bacteria  is  doubtful  and  their  relation  to  disease  un- 
ertain  it  will  suffice  to  mention  their  occurrence. 

BACTERIA  IN  THE  AMERICAN  PERMIAN 

The  presence  of  bacteria  in  the  closing  period  of  the  American 
Paleozoic  is  suggested  by  the  condition  of  the  fractured  and  infected 
pine  (Plate  XV,  a),  resembling  an  osteomyelitis  (Plate  XXI).  Study 
)f  microscopic  sections  of  this  spine,  described  in  Chapter  VII,  based  on 
our  transverse  sections  at  different  levels  show  in  detail  the  nature  of 
he  enclosed  sinuses  which  produced  the  apparent  tumefaction.  Care- 
ul  search  through  the  sections  has  failed  to  reveal  any  sequestrum,  such 
.IS  is  commonly  found  in  modern  examples  of  chronic  osteomyelitis, 
lor  were  bacteria  found  in  the  margins  of  the  calcite-filled  sinuses.  The 
presence  of  pathogenic  bacteria  in  such  a situation  would  be  rather 
fare  in  a fossil  state,  since  the  nature  of  the  fossilization  processes  would 
iisually  destroy  them.  It  is  doubtful  too  whether  we  could  prove  the 
Pathogenicity  of  such  bacteria  save  by  their  location. 

Bacteria  of  the  Micrococcus  type,  so  common  in  the  fossil  verte- 
brate material  studied  by  Renault  from  the  Autun  of  France,  are  how- 
■ver  abundantly  preserved  in  the  distorted  osseous  lacunae  (Plate 
..XV).  They  are  similar  in  all  respects  to  those  (Plate  LXIV)  occurring 
n the  fossil  bone  of  fishes  previously  described  in  this  chapter  under  the 
leading  “Bacteria  and  Thread  Mould  from  the  Devonian.”  The 
pacteria,  in  the  osseous  lacunae  of  the  Permian  spine,  often  seen  isolated 
n the  terminal  bulb  of  the  canaliculus-hke  burrows,  which  radiate  out 
rom  the  body  of  the  lacunae,  are  no  doubt  those  of  decay,  and  had 
lothing  to  do  with  the  infection  producing  the  osteomyehtis.  There 
eems  little  doubt  that  bacteria  of  the  present  type  may  be  found  in 
ny  fossil  vertebrate  material  of  the  type  which  has  been  embedded  in 
aoist  ground  long  enough  to  undergo  a shght  amount  of  decay,  prior  to 
ossilization. 

The  bodies  which  have  been  interpreted  as  bacteria,  when  seen 
oolated  at  a magnification  of  1240  diameters,  measuring  from  1 to 
.5  microns,  appear  as  semicrystalline,  rounded,  brownish  bodies  re- 
embling  rrunute  specks  of  amber.  The  question  as  to  whether  they  are 
eally  bacteria  has  been  satisfactorily  discussed  by  the  researches  of 


304 


PALEOPATHOLOGY 


Renault  and  others,  who  have  placed  the  subject  of  the  bacteriology  of 
fossil  vertebrate  remains  on  a safe  footing.  Those  seen  in  the  present 
sections  often  group  themselves  in  pairs  recalhng  the  modern  Diplo- 
cocci.  I have  never  seen  chains  of  these  forms  in  vertebrate  material. 
Photomicrographs  of  these  sections  were  not  made  since  the  bacteria 
have  all  the  appearances  seen  in  the  photomicrographs  of  a spicule 
of  bone  embedded  in  a coprolite  shown  in  Plate  LXV,  d. 

MICROSCOPIC  OBSERVATIONS  ON  COPROLITES  FROM 

THE  AMERICAN  PERMIAN  ‘ 

The  nature  of  the  form  and  construction  of  coproHtes,  fossil  feces, 
is  shown  in  Plate  LXI.  They  have  been  abundantly  described  and 
figured  by  Renault,  Neumayer,^*^  Leydig,  Duvernoy,  Bertrand, 
Agassiz,  Gaudry  and  von  Ammon.  While  most  of  these  remains  are 
regarded,  on  account  of  the  spiral  form,  as  excreta  of  fishes  of  the 
Ceratodus  type,  there  seems  to  be  some  ground  for  regarding  a few  of 
them  as  derived  from  Stegocephaha  and  reptiles.  Some  writers  have 
even  postulated  a spiral  valve  in  the  rectum  of  the  Permian  reptiles 
on  the  basis  of  the  form  of  the  coprolites  preserved  in  the  beds  with  the 
reptilian  skeletons. 

The  coprolite  shown  in  the  photomicrographs  (Plate  LXV)  I should 
regard  as  being  derived  from  a fish  on  account  of  the  arrangement  of  the 
material  in  folds  around  the  spirals  of  the  rectal  valve  and  the  rugae 
which  are  particularly  well  shown  in  Figure  a of  Plate  LXV.  The  dark 
spots  represent  carbonized  partially  digested  food  material  and  some 
of  the  white  bars  represent  spicules  and  flakes  of  bone,  scales  and  teeth. 
Often  from  the  shape  of  an  undigested  fragment  of  bone  one  is  enabled 
to  diagnose  the  nature  of  the  animal  devoured.  There  are  two  complete 
layers  and  portions  of  two  others  shown  in  this  photomicrograph  (Plate 
LXV,  a).  The  next  figure  “b”  illustrates  the  nature  of  the  fecal  mate- 
rial, at  a magnification  of  200  diameters.  The  broad  band  at  the  top  is  a 
flake  of  bone  surrounded  by  fossihzed  excrement.  The  succeeding 
photomicrographs  show  the  nature  of  a slender  spicule  of  bone  and  the 
bacteria  found  in  the  enlarged  canahculi.  The  lacunae  shown  in  “d”  are 
greatly  distorted  as  may  be  observed  on  comparison  with  normal  bone 
from  the  same  beds.  The  distortion  is  interpreted  as  being  due  to  the 
entrance  of  putrifying  bacteria  during  the  passage  of  the  bolus  of  food 
through  the  ahmentary  tract.  A careful  examination  of  the  course  of 

‘““L.  Neumayer.;  Die  Koprolithen  des  Perms  von  Texas.  Paleontographica,  LI,  121- 
127,  1 pi. 


GEOLOGICAL  BACTERIOLOGY 


305 


he  canaliculi  will  reveal  here  and  there  places  which  have  a beaded 
ippearance  which  have  been  interpreted  as  being  due  to  the  presence 
)f  small  colonies  of  bacteria,  which  may  be  found  isolated  in  the  ter- 
ninal  portions  of  the  canaliculi  but  are  difficult  to  represent  in  a photo- 
nicrograph  on  account  of  the  refraction  of  light  by  the  walls  of  the 
;analiculi. 


GEOLOGICAL  BACTERIOLOGY 


307 


DESCRIPTIONS  OF  FIGURE  26  AND  PLATES  LIX-LXV  ILLUSTRATING  CHAP- 
TERS VIII  AND  IX 


308 


PA  LEOPA  THOLOGY 


Figure  26 

1-b.  Two  crinoids,  Barycrinus  hoveyi,  with  the  starfish,  Onychasler  flexibilis 
intertwined  within  the  arms,  doubtless  fossilized  in  the  act  of  feeding  on  the 
crinoid’s  waste.  Specimens  from  the  Mississippian  of  Crawfordsville,  Indiana. 
(After  Clarke.) 


310 


PA  LEOPA  THOLOGY 


PLATE  LIX 
PALEOZOIC  PARASITISM 

a.  A part  of  the  tegmen  of  a fossil  crinoid  Strotocrinus  regalis  Hall,  showing  the 
successive  growth  marks  made  by  an  attached  snail,  Platyceras,  (See  Plate  XI) 
which  always  kept  its  anterior  extremity  over  the  anal  aperture  (indicated  at  “A”) 
of  the  crinoid.  From  the  Mississippian  of  Crawfordsville,  Indiana.  (After  Clarke.) 

b.  A mineralized  geode  formed  in  the  stem  of  a crinoid  which  has  nothing 
whatever  to  do  with  disease.  These  geodes  in  their  early  stages  of  growth  ofter 
look  like  swollen  crinoid  stems  due  to  disease,  as  shown  in  “f.”  The  geodes  ocar 
abundantly  in  the  Keokuk  limestone. 

c.  A crinoid  “gall”  in  the  arm  of  a recent  crinoid.  The  swelling  is  due  to  th( 
presence  of  a myzostomid  acting  as  a parasite.  This  is  for  comparison  with  th( 
fossil  “gall”  shown  in  “f.”  (After  Graff.) 

d.  Section  through  a fossil  coral,  Pleurodictyum  prohlematicum,  from  the  Lowei 
Devonian  of  Eifel,  showing  a worm  tube  near  the  center.  An  example  of  ancieni 
commensalism.  (After  Stromer  von  Reichenbach.) 

e.  Portion  of  a parasitized  crinoid  stem  from  the  Carboniferous  of  German) 
showing  carbonized  remains  of  a myzostomid  which  was  the  parasite  producing  th( 
lesion.  (After  Graff.) 

/.  Parasitized  crinoid  stem,  a crinoid  “gall,”  from  the  Carboniferous  of  Ger- 
many, showing  the  tumor-like  lesion  produced  by  the  action  of  the  myzostomid 
(After  Graff.) 


Plate  LIX 


GEOLOGICAL  BACTERIOLOGY 


311 


PLATE  LX 


V'!  ' ■ 

, f s 'm-  ■'. 

■W'-; 


312 


PALEOPATHOLOGY 


PLATE  LX 

THE  OLDEST  KNOWN  BACTERIA 

a and  b.  Micrococcus  sp.  undt.  (X  about  1100  diameters),  average  size  of  Micro- 
cocci 0.95  to  1.3  micra  in  diameter.  Algonkian;  Gallatin  Formation,  Montana. 
(After  Walcott.) 

c.  Staphylococcus  (?)  isolated  from  Pemphigus  neonatorum.  Gram  stain.  X 
1200.  Kindness  of  Dr.  F.  H.  Falls. 

d.  Characteristic'  groups  of  Microccocus  vaccinae  (After  Cohn.)  Very  highly 
magnified. 

The  oldest  known  bacteria  had  no  relation  to  disease.  The  chains  figured  here 
were  discovered  by  Dr.  Charles  D.  Walcott  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution,  in  asso- 
ciation with  the  earliest  plants  and  animals,  in  the  very  early  stages  of  the  earth’s 
history.  It  has  been  suggested  that  these  bacteria  were  of  the  type  which  cause  the 
deposition  of  calcium  from  sea  water.  They  are  associated  with  algae  which  may  be 
seen  in  the  broad  stripes  running  diagonally  across  the  field. 


‘ » ■ 


dL 


lo 


Plate  LX 


GEOLOGICAL  BACTERIOLOGY 


PLATE  LXI 


314 


PALEOPATHOLOGY 


PLATE  LXI 
FOSSIL  FECES 

a.  An  American  Paleozoic  coprolite,  showing  in  the  banded  arrangement  of 
materials  the  effect  of  the  rectal  spiral  valve. 

b.  A coprolite  of  Igornay,  France,  shown  natural  size.  At  the  anterior  end  are 
clearly  seen  the  bands  of  material  which  are  laid  one  on  another  and  thus  form  the 
mass  of  the  coprolite.  It  seems  probable  that  the  excrement  was  deposited  on  the 
sandy  bottom,  or  buried  immediately  in  the  silt,  for  if  they  had  been  exposed  for 
some  time  to  the  action  of  the  water,  their  external  contours  would  have  been  less 
clear,  and  their  form  partially  destroyed.  (After  Renault.) 

c.  Photograph,  slightly  enlarged,  of  a transverse  section  of  a Permian  copro- 
lite from  Texas.  A drawing  of  this  coprolite  is  shown  in  Plate  LXVI,  c. 

d.  A transverse  section  shows  clearly  the  spiral  turns  of  fecal  matter,  which 
had  been  arranged  by  the  spiral  valve.  The  outer  lajmr  is  composed  of  the  schist 
in  which  the  coprolite  was  embedded.  (After  Renault.) 

e.  Transverse  section  of  a fish  coprolite  from  the  Permian  of  Texas.  (After 
Neumayer.) 


Plate  LXI 


GEOLOGICAL  BACTERIOLOGY 


PLATE  LXII 


316 


PALEOPA  THOLOGY 


PLATE  LXn 

ANCIENT  BACTERIA  AND  FUNGI 

a.  Colonies  or  “cultures”  of  bacteria  are  often  fossilized.  They  have  been 
found  abundantly  by  Bernar4  Renault  in  his  extensive  studies  of  the  minute  organ- 
isms of  the  coal.  The  culture  shown  is  preserved  in  silicon  and  had  no  relation  to 
disease  so  far  as  known.  Although  bacteria  existed  at  the  time  when  disease  hegins 
to  be  apparent  among  the  relics  of  animal  and  plant  life  they  were  not  the  immediate 
cause  of  disease. 

h.  Mycelia  and  sporangia  of  fossil  fungi  as  seen  under  high  magnification  in  a 
thin  section  of  fossil  wood,  favorite  places  for  growths  of  ancient  bacteria  and 
fungi. 

c.  Scattered  bacteria  in  plant  cells.  One  of  the  bacilli  shows  a mucoid  capsule. 

d.  Other  fossil  plant  cells,  at  a lower  magnification,  showing  scattered  bacteria. 

All  figures  taken  from  Renault’s  “Microorganismes  des  combustibles  fossiles. 


Plate  LXII 


GEOLOGICAL  BACTERIOLOGY 


317 


PLATE  LXIII 


318 


PALEOPATHOLOGY 


PLATE  LXin 

BACTERIA  IN  FOSSIL  FISH  BONE 

The  following  figures  show  four  stages  in  the  disruption  of  the  osseous  lacunae  ol 
a Permian  fish  by  the  invading  bacteria.  All  figures  after  Renault. 

a.  Photomicrograph  of  a fragment  of  fossil  fish  bone  from  the  Autun  Basin  ol 
France  (Permo-Carboniferous),  showing  the  nature  in  nearly  normal  bone,  of  the 
osseous  lacunae,  recognized  in  the  black  diamond-shaped  spots,  canaliculi  radiating 
out  from  the  lacunae  and  vascular  channels,  seen  especially  well  in  the  “T”-shapec 
structure. 

b.  Photomicrograph  of  another  area  of  bone  showing  the  beginning  of  dismp 
tion  of  the  lacunae  by  bacteria.  The  canaliculi  anastomose.  The  beaded  appear 
ance  indicates  the  presence  of  bacteria  in  the  canalicuh. 

c.  A further  stage  of  disruption  at  a higher  magnification. 

d.  The  form  of  the  lacunae  in  this  area  is  almost  completely  obliterated  and  th< 
channels  in  the  bone  are  packed  full  of  Micrococci. 


Plate  LXIII 


GEOLOGICAL  BACTERIOLOGY 


319 


PLATE  LXIV 


% 


320 


PALEOPATHOLOGY 


PLATE  LXIV 

EVIDENCES  OF  BACTERIA  IN  FOSSIL  BONE 

a.  Bothriolepis  cajiade?mVlacunae  in  the  carapace  which  have  been  invaded 
by  bacteria.  Devonian,  Canada.  X 500.  The  lacunae  may  be  recognized  as  the 
long,  dark,  vertical,  spindle-shaped  bodies,  of  which  there  are  several  in  the  photo- 
micrograph. 

h.  Pliocene  elephant  tusk,  edge  of  dentine,  showing  in  the  black  lines  the  paths 
of  entrance  of  bacteria,  similar  to  the  invasion  of  bacteria  in  cases  of  dental  caries. 
The  invaded  dentinal  tubules  are  black.  Nebraska.  X 300. 

c.  Coccosteus  acadianus—Bevonmn,  Scotland,  showing  vascular  opening  and 
lacunae  invaded  by  bacteria  and  thread  mould.  X 500.  The  vascular  opening  in 
the  right  lower  corner  may  be  regarded  as  a primitive  Haversian  canal  since  the 
surrounding  lacunae  are  arranged  in  a more  or  less  definite  lamellar  fashion  around 

d.  Articular  surface  of  a dinosaur  vertebra,  showing  lacunae  distorted  by  the 
resence  of  bacteria.  Como  Beds,  Wyoming.  X 500. 


Plate  LXIV 


i 


GEOLOGICAL  BACTERIOLOGY 


PLATE  LXV 


322 


PA  LEOPA  THOLOGY 


PLATE  LXV 

MICROSCOPIC  STRUCTURE  OF  A PERMIAN  COPROLITE 

a.  Photomicrograph  of  a coprolite  from  Texas  showing  layers  of  material 
and  folds  representing  rugae  of  rectum.  X 100. 

b.  Coprolite  of  some  fish?  from  the  Permian  of  Texas  to  show  nature  of 
material  in  which  fossil  bacteria  are  frequently  found.  X 200. 

c.  The  light  bar  is  a spicule  of  bone  in  a coprolite  from  the  Permian  of  Texas — 
the  matrix  is  dark — the  lacunae  in  the  bone  are  distorted  with  bacteria.  X 200. 

d.  Area  of  bone  spicule  in  coprolite  from  Permian  of  Texas  showing  distortion 
due  to  presence  of  bacteria  in  canahculi.  X 500.  Bacteria  and  groups  of  bacteria 
may  be  detected  in  the  minute  rounded  bodies  seen  along  the  finer  ramifications  of 
the  canaliculi. 


Plate  LXV 


CHAPTER  X 


OPISTHO  ONOS  AND  ALLIED  PHENOMENA  AMONG 
FOSSIL  VERTEBRATES 

Frequency  of  opisthotonos  among  fossil  skeletons.  Opisthotonos  among  pterodactyls 
The  opisthotonic  attitude  among  ancient  birds  and  dinosaurs.  Pleurothotonos.  Phenomena 
imong  fossil  fishes.  Opisthotonos  in  man.  Phenomena  as  manifestations  of  disease.  Sum- 
naiy.  Descriptions  of  Figure  27  and  Plates  LXVI-LXVIII  illustrating  Chapter  X.  Figure 
n and  Plates  LXVT-LXVIII. 

It  is  a well  known  fact  in  modern  medicine  that  the  attitudes  known 
as  opisthotonos/  pleurothotonos,  emprosthotonos  and  allied  phenomena 
are  indications  of  a severe  spastic  reaction  due  to  the  poisoning  of  the 
central  nervous  system  either  by  bacterial  poisons,  mineral  poisons  or 
other  toxins  which  when  liberated  in  the  blood  attack  the  brain  and 
spinal  cord.  The  phenomenon  of  opisthotonos  is  the  more  commonly 
seen  and  is  frequently  met  -with  in  man  and  mammals  in  strychnine 
poisoning,  less  strongly  in  mercurial  poisoning.  Many  animals  at 
death  present  the  opisthotonic  attitude^  which  may  or  may  not  be  the 
result  of  a diseased  condition  but  certainly  represents  a tonic  spasm. 
The  phenomenon  is  not  confined  to  the  vertebrates  but  is  evident  in 
such  lowly  organisms  as  the  opisthobranchiate  moUuscs  where  it  is  in- 
duced by  eft'ects  similar  to  those  which  produce  the  position  in  higher 
animals.  A close  scrutiny  of  recent  animals  under  the  effects  of  poison 
and  disease  would  doubtless  result  in  a discovery  of  its  widespread  con- 

' This  chapter  appeared,  with  the  same  title,  as  an  essay  in  the  American  Naturalist 
ITol.  52,  no.  620-621,  pp.  384r-394,  Figs.  1-8,  1918  as  the  third  of  my  “Studies  in  Paleopathol- 
3gy.”  It  is  here  elaborated  and  corrected  in  accordance  with  the  abundant  criticism  which 
fiat  essay  produced.  The  field  of  opinion  is  equally  divided ; the  medical  men  contending  that 
fie  attitudes  of  the  fossil  skeletons  exhibit  evidences  of  a tetanic  spasm,  while  many  paleontol- 
)gists  fail  to  see  any  such  efiect  manifested.  In  -view  of  this  division  of  opinion  it  is  thought 
vorth  while  to  present  the  entire  problem  here  in  complete  form. 

^ Definitions  of  the  term  “opisthotonos”  differ.  Two  are  given  by  the  Century  Diction- 
iry : “A  disease  in  which  the  limbs  are  drawn  back”;  “A  tonic  spasm  in  which  the  body  is  bent 
backward,”  neither  of  which  conforms  to  medical  usage  which  is  best  expressed  by  Stedman’s 
iefimtion:  “A  tetanic  spasm  in  which  the  spine  and  extremeties  are  bent  with  convexity 
orward,  the  body  resting  on  the  head  and  heels.”  The  term  is  also  used  as  a name  for  the 
ittitude  of  the  body  which  is  the  result  of  a spasm,  in  which  case  it  cannot  be  regarded  as  a 
lisease,  but  as  a manifestation  of  disease. 


323 


1 


I 


324 


PALEOPATHOLOGY 


dition.  Such  a distribution  among  modern  animals  from  molluscs  to 
man  indicates  a fundamental  reaction  to  which  the  fossil  vertebrates 
need  be  no  exception.  Certainly  it  will  be  interesting,  in  searching 
among  the  fossil  animals  for  evidences  of  disease,  to  compare  as  far  as 
possible  the  attitudes  of  ancient  and  recent  animals  with  respect  to  this 
question  of  cerebrospinal  toxins. 

FREQUENCY  OF  OPISTHOTONOS  AMONG  FOSSIL  VERTEBRATES 

Every  student  of  the  fossil  vertebrates  who  is  fortunate  enough  to 
collect  a number  of  complete  or  approximately  complete  skeletons  of 
ancient  animals  is  almost  sure  to  be  impressed  with  the  frequency  of 
the  peculiar  curve  (Plate  LXVII)  to  the  backwardly  bent  neck  and  the 
rigid  appearance  of  the  limbs,  if  these  members  are  preserved  in  any- 
thing like  the  position  assumed  by  the  animals  at  death.  Right  here, 
however,  is  a most  critical  point  in  the  entire  subject,  since  we  cannot  al- 
ways be  sure  that  the  skeleton  is  in  a position  assumed  at  death.  Un- 
less care  is  taken  to  assure  onesself  of  this  point  the  entire  subject  may 
be  vitiated.  So  many  factors  enter  into  the  fossilization  of  a verte- 
brate skeleton,  and  lying  unprotected  the  body  is  subject  to  so  many 
accidents  before  fossilization  sets  in  that  great  care  must  be  exercised  in 
defining  an  opisthotonic  attitude.  It  may  conceivably^  be  due  to  the 
action  of  water  currents,  to  the  efi'ects  of  carnivorous  animals,  to 
shiftings  of  position  due  to  a change  of  location  or  to  a variety  of  causes 
which  reflection  may  perceive  to  be  possible.  In  such  cases,  however, 
some  parts  of  the  body  are  sure  to  show  the  effects  of  such  a disturbance 
and  the  evidence  checked  up.  A still  more  important  factor,  since  such 
a comparison  is  necessarily  made  on  published  illustrations  and  de- 
scriptions, is  to  be  seen  in  the  shiftings  of  the  fossil  bones  in  the  museum 
preparation  of  the  specimen  for  exhibit.  The  position  may  be  modified 
to  suit  a certain  place  in  an  exhibit  or  to  fit  a certain  panel.  There  are 
however  a great  number  of  vertebrate  skeletons  known  in  a fossil  condi- 
tion whose  positions  we  are  assured  have  not  suffered  a change  since  the 
interment  of  the  body;  such  skeletons  are  commonly'  seen  in  aquatic 
deposits,  such  as  the  prolific  Solenhofen  slates  (Plate  LXVIII,  b and  c), 
and  the  Triassic  slates  of  Connecticut,  wherein  we  feel  confident  that 
the  conditions  represented  are  indications  of  what  took  place  when 
death  occurred.  It  is  on  this  latter  type  of  evidence  that  much  of  the 
discussion  of  this  chapter  is  based.  The  opisthotonic  attitude  is 
especially  common  among  fossil  vertebrates,  though  examples  ot 


OPISTHOTONOS  AND  ALLIED  PHENOMENA 


325 


.leurothotonos  are  not  unknown.  Emprosthotonos  has  not  been  seen, 

0 far  as  I am  aware. 

' The  beautiful  skeletons  of  the  small,  delicate-limbed,  lower  Miocene 
amel,  Stenomylus  (Plate  LXVII,  b)  numbers  of  which  have  been  ob- 
ained  from  a sfngle  hill  (Fig.  27)  in  western  Nebraska,  often  show  an 
pisthotonic  attitude.  Stenomylus  was  an  extremely  slender,  cursorial 
reature;  the  head  rather  small  and  rounded,  the  neck  long  and  light. 
These  graceful  little  camels  had  a brief  career  which  ended  in  the  lower 
jdiocene.  Among  a series  of  skeletons,  in  the  collection  of  which  I had 
he  pleasure  of  assisting,  three  showed  an  opisthotonic  attitude,  one 
trongly,  and  two  moderately  so,  as  to  the  cervicals  and  anterior  dor- 
als  only.  The  condition  rarely  involved  the  posterior  dorsals  and 
ambars.  The  phenomenon  has  also  been  noted  by  other  collectors  in 
he  same  quarry  and  the  beautiful  little  skeleton  figured  (Plate  LXVII, 
i)  at  present  in  the  Carnegie  Museum  at  Pittsburgh  is  from  that  de- 
)Osit. 

Opisthotonos  is  a fairly  common  condition  among  the  carnivorous 
linosaurs,  except  in  those  cases  where  the  skeletons  lie  on  the  belly  or 
,)ack;  positions  which  these  long-limbed,  small-bodied  reptiles  seldom 
iccupy.  The  primitive  reptiles,  the  Pelycosauria,  from  the  Permian  of 
pexas  often  indicate  interesting  opisthotonic  phenomena,  showing  a 
jtrong  reaction  along  the  entire  vertebral  column,  save  the  free  part  of 
he  tail. 

Williston®  in  describing  the  remains  of  Cimoliasaurus  snowii,  a long- 
|.ecked  reptile  from  the  chalk  cliffs  of  Kansas,  says: 

1 The  specimen  comprises  the  skull  and  twenty-eight  cervical  vertebrae,  all 
jttached  and  with  their  relative  positions  but  little  disturbed.  They  lie  upon  the 
ght  side,  with  the  usual  opisthotonic  curve  to  the  neck,  and  are  aU  laterally  com- 
ressed. 

he  attitude  is  abundantly  represented  among  fossils  and  its  signifi- 
ance  is  suggested  to  be  the  result  of  spastic  distress  at  or  shortly  be- 
)re  the  death  of  the  animal. 

' OPISTHOTONOS  AMONG  PTERODACTYLS 

Many  of  the  beautifully  complete  skeletons  (Plate  LVII,  c)  of  the 
nail  winged  reptiles  known  as  pterodactyls,  such  as  Pterodactyliis 
mgirostris,  P.  brevirostris,  P.  elegans  and  many  other  species  which  have 
een  described  during  the  early  part  of  the  last  century  from  the  litho- 

’ S.  W.  WiUiston:  A new  Plesiosaur  from  the  Niobrara  Cretaceous  of  Kansas.  Tr.  Kans. 
:ad.  Sci.,  1890,  p.  1. 


326 


PALEOPATHOLOGY 


graphic  slates  of  Aichstadt  by  Goldfuss,  Cuvier,  Wagner  and  Soem- 
mering, exhibit  a marked  opisthotonic  curve  to  the  neck  and  a more 
rigid  appearance  to  the  skeleton  as  a whole  than  is  common  among  the 
specimens  of  these  remarkably  volant  reptiles.  Pterodactylus  longi- 
rostris  Cuvier  shows  in  one  specimen  the  jaw  gaping  widely  as  if  trismus 
was  not  an  accompaniment  of  the  opisthotonos,  such  as  is  usually  the 
case  in  recent  examples  of  tetanus,  or  else  the  jaw  was  secondarily 
moved  by  the  action  of  the  water  after  the  dissolution  of  the  muscles. 
Other  pterodactyls,  such  as  Pterodactylus  scolopaciceps,  P.  longicollum 
and  others  described  by  Plieninger"*  from  the  Jurassic  of  Swabia  show  no 
indication  of  spastic  distress.  It  is  thus  seen  that  the  attitude,  while 
common,  is  not  an  universal  one  among  the  flying  reptiles.  Some  of  the 
more  acute  attitudes  may  indicate  a cerebro-spinal  infection. 

THE  OPISTHOTONIC  ATTITUDE  AMONG  ANCIENT 
BIRDS  AND  DINOSAURS 

The  toothed  bird  (Plate  LXVIII,  b)  of  the  genus  Archaeopteryx,  of 
which  several  specimens  are  known  from  the  hthographic  slates  of 
Bavaria  and  which  are  commonly  figured  in  the  text-books  of  geolog)', 
zoology  and  paleontology,  all  exhibit  a pronounced  opisthotonos.  The 
position  may  be  slightly  exaggerated  in  the  slender-necked  vertebrates 
having  a relatively  heavy  head  w^hich  may  pull  the  neck  backwards. 
Although  the  weight  of  the  head  may  have  added  to  the  curve  of  the 
backwardly  bent  neck  the  position  is  none  the  less  an  opisthotonic  one, 
indicating  an  acute  spastic  distress.  It  is  thus  rendered  possible  that 
this  well  known  form  of  curious  reptihan  bird  may  have  died  of  cerebro- 
spinal poisoning. 

The  skeleton  of  the  small  dinosaur,  about  the  size  of  a common 
chicken,  described  from  the  lithographic  (Upper  Jurassic)  slates  of 
Jachenhausen,  Bavaria  and  known  as  Compsognathus  longipe^  Wagner 
(Figure  c,  Plate  LXVIII)  exhibits  an  unusually  clear  case  of  opistho- 
tonos; the  skull  lying  far  back  over  the  pelvis,  the  tail  thrown  sharply 
up  and  the  toes  of  one  hind  foot  strongly  appressed.  Abel®  offers  an 
entirely  different  interpretation  for  the  attitute  of  the  animal  when  he 
says: 

Felix  Plieninger:  Die  Pterosaurier  der  Juraformation  Schwabens.  Paleontographica 
liii,  210-313,  6 pis.  1907. 

® F.  von  Nopsca:  Neues  ueber  Compsognathus.  N.  J.  f.  Mineral.  Geol.  u.  Paleon. 
Beilageband,  xvi,  1903,  476. 

® O.  Abel:  Die  Stamme  der  Wirbeltiere,  1919,  p.  582. 


OPISTHOTONOS  AND  ALLIED  PHENOMENA 


327 


The  animal’s  skull  and  neck  are  drawn  far  back  over  the  back  and  the  body  was 
Iready  far  decomposed  when  it  was  washed  into  the  lagoon  of  Jachenhausen.  This 
Wement  caused  slight  markings  to  appear  in  the  soft  mud  as  may  be  seen  on  the 
ight  side  of  the  photograph.  In  the  body  cavity,  not  visible  in  the  figure,  are  the 
vident  remains  of  a reptile  which  had  been  devoured  by  the  Compsognathus ; these 
emains  having  previously  been  interpreted  as  embryonic  in  nature. 

t may  well  be  in  this  case,  as  suggested  by  Dean,  we  are  “searching  too 
ar  afield”  in  ascribing  the  position  to  disease;  but,  on  the  other  hand 
I wish  to  remind  my  readers  that  in  interpreting  ancient  phenomena 
.,ny  opinion  must  have  evidence  to  support  it. 

The  most  striking  representation  of  opisthotonos  among  the  dino- 
aurs,  we  may  even  say  among  extinct  vertebrates,  is  that  seen  in  the  re- 
nains  of  the  small  cursorial  dinosaur  Struthiomimus  altus  (Figure  a, 
date  LXVII)  described  by  Osborn^  from  the  Belly  River  series  of 
Uberta.  The  skeleton  of  this  interesting  dinosaur  is  mounted  in  a 
>anel  where  the  skeletal  parts  are  placed  approximately  as  found, 
hough  I am  told  that  the  limbs  were  shifted  somewhat.  The  attitude 
if  the  body  is  typically  that  of  the  opisthotonos;  the  jaws  exhibiting 
rismus,  with  the  head  thrown  sharply  back  over  the  sacrum,  the  tail 
hrown  sharply  up  and  the  foot  strongly  contracted  with  the  toes  ap- 
jressed.  The  whole  attitude  of  the  body  strongly  suggests  some  severe 
pastic  distress.  The  animal  may  have  been  a plant  feeder  and  its 
leath  and  spastic  distress  due  to  feeding  on  some  poisonous  plant,  such 
is  today  produce  tetanic  spasms  in  animals.  It  may  have  suffered 
leath  from  a severe  cerebro-spinal  infection;  but,  whatever  the  cause 
'f  its  death,  the  attitude  of  the  fossihzed  skeleton  strongly  suggests  the 
fleets  of  disease.  We  are  not  however  justified  in  placing,  on  such 
ncertain  evidence,  the  antiquity  of  either  tetanus  or  the  bacillus  of 
etanus  back  so  far  in  geological  time.  Opisthotonos,  as  seen  in  fossil 
ertebrates,  may  be  regarded  as  the  result  of  disease  only  in  such 
xaggerated  cases  as  shown  by  this  interesting  and  graceful  dinosaur 
|rom  the  Cretaceous  of  Alberta. 

PLEUROTHOTONOS 

The  correlative  phenomenon,  pleurothotonos,  is  less  common 
mong  the  higher  vertebrates,  that  is  the  groups  above  the  Amphibia, 
ut  it  is  not  uncommonly  met  with  in  the  fishes.  Emprosthotonos  is 
ntirely  unknown  among  ancient  vertebrates.  Occasional  indications 
f pleurothotonos  among  reptiles  may  be  seen  on  examining  the  range  of 

’H.  F.  Osborn:  Skeletal  Adaptations  of  Omitholestes,  Struthiomimus,  Tyrannosaurus. 
uU.  Amer.  Mus.  Natl,  ffist.,  xxxv,  733,  pi.  24,  1917. 


328 


PALEOPATHOLOGY 


paleontological  literature.  The  attitude  in  which  the  large  plesiosaur, 
Plesiosaurus  macrocephalus  (Fig.  a,  Plate  LXVI)  collected  by  Miss 
Mary  Anning  from  the  Lias  of  Lyme  Regis,  England,  is  doubtless  the 
pleurothotonic.  The  skeleton  is  figured  in  Buckland’s  Bridgewater 
Treatise  (1837)  from  which  the  accompanying  illustration  is  taken. tilt 
is  improbable  that  the  head  of  this  long-necked  plesiosaur,  heavy  as  it 
was,  coul’d  have  been  turned  into  its  present  attitude  by  a current  of 
water,  since  a force  sufficiently  strong  to  have  moved  the  heavy  head  to 
one  side  would  doubtless  have  disturbed  other  portions  of  the  body,  and 
there  is  no  evidence  of  this  in  the  skeleton. 

The  remarkable  specimen  of  the  ancient  crocodile,  Geosaurus  grac- 
ilis H.  von  Meyer,  from  the  upper  Jurassic  lithographic  slates  of  Eich- 
stadt,  Bavaria,  described  and  illustrated  by  von  Ammon,  shows  a clearly 
marked  instance  of  pleurothotonos.  The  body,  slightly  twisted,  is 
bent  into  a strong,  uniform  arc  toward  the  left,  the  animal  having  been 
preserved  on  its  belly.  An  ancient  teleosaur,  Mystriosaurus  bollensis 
Cuvier,  from  the  upper  Lias  of  Holzmaden  in  Wurtemberg,  as  pre- 
served in  the  Senckenberg  Museum  at  Frankfort  and  figured  by 
Drevermann,  likewise  shows  a condition  of  pleurothotonos.  Another 
specimen  of  this  species  preserved  in  the  United  States  National 
Museum  presents  an  opisthotonic  attitude. 

PHENOMENA  AMONG  EOSSIL  FISHES 

The  fishes  often  assume  at  death  and  are  fossilized  in  the  pleuro- 
thotonic attitude.  This  is  clearly  indicated  in  fishes  from  the  Solenhofen 
slates,  such  as  Leptolepis  sprattiformis,  as  figured  by  Drevermann, 
Gaudry  and  others.  This  attitude  is  clearly  that  of  fishes  attempting 
to  flop  out  of  the  soft  mud,  where  they  had  been  cast,  back  into  the  wa- 
ter, and  an  interpretation  of  pleurothotonos  among  fossil  fishes  as  an 
indication  of  disease  must  be  made  with  caution. 

It  is  a remarkable  fact  that  the  fishes  which  present  this  attitude  are 
most  often  preserved  singly.  Fishes  which  are  preserved  in  a mass 
seldom  show  instances  of  distress.  The  diatomaceous  deposits  of 
Miocene  age  at  Lompoc,  California,  have  preserved  in  one  stratum 
millions  upon  millions  of  a small  herring,  Xy7ie  grex,  which  had  doubt- 
less chosen  a small  bay  some  four  square  miles  in  extent  as  a spawning 
ground.®  The  skeletons  are  all  w^ell  preserved,  the  organic  part  being 
carbonized  into  a dark  browm  substance.  They  are  not  crowded  but 

® David  Starr  Jordan:  h Miocene  Catastrophe.  Natural  ffistorj-,  xs,  no.  1,  pp.  18-22, 
1920. 


OPISTHOTONOS  AND  ALLIED  PHENOMENA 


329 


ocur  evenly  over  the  entire  extent.  The  evidences  show  that  the 
ihes  all  died  quietly,  there  being  no  evidence  of  distress  among  the  thous- 
iids  of  specimens  examined.  The  question  of  the  cause  of  the  death 
: great  masses  of  animals  both  in  recent  and  ancient  times  has  been 
scussed  by  Wiman,®  though  he  leaves  the  subject  in  an  unsatisfactory 
ate  and  much  remains  to  be  learned  regarding  this  important  phe- 
Dmenon. 

It  is  not  a necessary  sequence  that  all  laterally  compressed  verte- 
rates  assume  the  pleurothotonic  attitude  since  often  ganoid  fishes 
figure  d,  Plate  LXVIII)  especially  assume  the  opisthotonos.  The 
reat  majority  of  fossil  fishes  which  have  been  described,  and  which 
ave  been  preserved  in  an  approximately  complete  manner  exhibit 
^either  of  these  phenomena.  The  great  series  of  Triassic  fishes  from 
.'onnecticut  seldom  exhibit  spastic  distress.  A single  specimen  of 
'atopterus  gracilis  of  those  figured  by  Eastman^®  exhibits  the  opistho- 
onos,  and  a single  one,  Ptycholepis  marshi,  exhibits  pleurothotonos.  Of 
•undreds  of  specimens  of  fossil  fishes  described  by  Agassiz,  Smith 
i^oodward,  Newberry,  and  Eastman  a very  small  percentage  exhibits 
igns  of  spastic  distress.  A careful  study  of  the  great  series  of  more  re- 
ent  fishes  from  the  Oligocene  shales  of  Elorissant,  Colorado,  also  points 
D the  same  conclusion. 

I OPISTHOTONOS  IN  MAN 

i As  chnical  manifestations  of  great  severity,  opisthotonos  and  the 
I'orrelative  phenomena  pleurothotonos  and  emprosthotonos  (epis- 
liotonos)  have  long  been  well  known  in  human  beings  as  accompanying 
^ertain  phases  of  tetanus,”  abscesses  of  the  brain,  otitis  media,  cere- 
rospinal  meningitis,  strychnine  poisoning,  and  other  afflictions  in 
ffflich  the  toxins  affecting  the  central  nervous  system  are  hberated. 
n these  manifestations  the  muscles  of  the  body,  the  spine  and  the  ex- 
remities  are  strongly  flexed.  This  characteristic  attitude  of  the  spasm 
as  been  graphically  figured  (Plate  LXVIII,  a)  by  Sir  Charles  Bell,” 
fflo  describes  it  as  follows: 

I have  here  given  a sketch  of  the  true  Opisthotonos,  where  it  is  seen  that  all 
le  muscles  are  rigidly  contracted,  the  more  powerful  flexors  prevailing  over  the 

® C.  Wiman:  Ueber  die  paleontologische  Bedeutung  des  Massensterbens  unter  den 
ieren.  Paleontologische  Zeitschrift,  1,  pp.  145-154,  1914. 

Ch.  R.  Eastman:  Triassic  Fishes  of  Connecticut. — State  of  Conn.  Geol.  and  Nat.  Hist, 
urvey,  BuO.  18,  Hartford,  1911. 

“ Described  by  Dr.  Dyas  in  Surgical  Clinics  of  North  America,  1921. 

Sir  Charles  Bell:  Anatomy  of  the  Expressions.  London. 


330 


PALEOPATHOLOGY 


extensors.  Were  the  painter  to  represent  every  circumstance  faithfully,  the  effect 
might  be  too  painful,  and  something  must  be  left  to  his  taste  and  imagination. 

An  interesting  case  of  opisthotonos  in  a fetus  in  utero  has  been 
described  by  Falls^®  and  the  attitude  is  commonly  seen  in  diseases  of 
children. 

PHENOMENA  AS  MANIFESTATIONS  OF  DISEASE 

It  is  a matter  of  great  interest  to  find  the  same  phenomena  among 
fossil  animals  which  are  commonly  seen  in  man  and  the  recent  animals. 
The  phenomena  under  discussion  are  extremely  common  among  modern 
vertebrates  of  all  classes,  and  they  are  so  commonly  seen  in  medical 
laboratories  as  to  be  well  known  to  medical  students.  Often  cats  in- 
oculated with  cerebrospinal  meningitis  die  during  the  night  and  are 
fixed  by  the  rigor  mortis  in  the  opisthotonic  attitude. This  fact 
may  explain  the  positions  in  which  fossil  vertebrates  are  often  found. 
That  is  they  died  in  opisthotonos,  were  fixed  by  the  rigor  mortis  and 
fossilized  without  being  shifted.  It  seems  unnecessary  to  assume  a 
shifting  in  all  cases  as  Dean^^  has  suggested.  One  may  have  been  as 
true  as  the  other.  Many  of  the  attitudes  assumed  by  fossil  animals  may 
be  due  to  the  spasm  usually  incident  to  death, the  Todeskampf  of 
the  Germans,  or,  in  some  cases,  to  accidental  shifting  of  a part  of  the 
body  after  death.  Many  of  the  fossil  vertebrates  whose  skeletons  are 
found  in  anything  like  a complete  state  of  preservation  do  not  show 
these  manifestations.  It  is  on  the  whole  unusual  for  the  vertebrates  to 
show  opisthotonos  or  pleurothotonos,  and  the  phenomena  are  more 
common  in  the  slender  necked  vertebrates.  It  is  possible  that  some 
of  the  animals  whose  skeletons  are  preserved  in  these  attitudes  had 
suffered  death  from  diseases  similar  to  tetanus,  or  cerebrospinal  men- 
ingitis, the  attitude  being  produced  by  the  spasm  incident  to  such  a 
disease. 

The  skeleton  of  Mesosaurtis  brasiliensis  from  the  Permian  of  Brazih’ 
exhibits  a slight  degree  of  opisthotonos  such  as  is  common  in  the  death 
struggle  of  modern  vertebrates.  Likevdse  the  skeleton  of  the  plesiosaur, 
Plesiosaurus  Guilelmi,  described  by  Fraas^®  from  the  Posidonienschiefer 

F.  H.  Falls:  Opisthotonos  Feti.  Surg.  Gjnec.  & Obstret.,  Chicago,  1917,  65-67, 1 fig. 

Roy  L.  Moodie:  Opisthotonos.  Science,  N.S.,  vol.  50,  no.  1290,  275-276, 1919. 

Bashford  Dean:  Dr.  IMoodie’s  Opisthotonos.  Science,  N.S.,  xlix,  357,  1919. 

What  did  Fossils  die  of?  Literary  Digest,  May  31, 1919. 

J.  H.  McGregor:  Mesosaurus  brasiliensis  from  the  Permian  of  Brazil.  Commissao 
de  Estudos  das  Minas,  etc.,  pi.  iv,  1908. 

Eberhard  Fraas:  Pleisosaurier  aus  dem  oberen  Lias  von  Holzmaden.  Plaeontographi- 
ca,  Ivii,  pi.  vi,  viii.  1910. 


OPISTHOTONOS  AND  ALLIED  PHENOMENA 


331 


oiHolzmaden,  Germany,  exhibits  a slight  degree  of  opisthotonos,  while 
te  gigantic  Thaumatosaurus  victor  is  preserved  in  a perfectly  normal 
atitude.  There  can  be,  I think,  little  doubt  that  many  of  these  at- 
tudes,  where  slight,  may  be  explained  as  phenomena  accompanying 
te  death  struggle,  but  it  seems  extremely  improbable  that  all  of  them 
cn  be  explained  in  this  basis.  Certainly  it  is  not  true  that  all  verte- 
tates  whose  skeletons  are  fossilized  exhibit  indications  of  such  spasms, 
thile  complete  skeletal  remains  are  relatively  rare,  yet  there  is  a suf- 
tient  number  preserved  in  the  many  museums  throughout  the  world, 
lie  descriptions  of  which  are  accessible  to  all,  to  determine  the  relative 
fequency  of  the  positions. 

I Perhaps  no  deposit  yielding  fossil  vertebrates  has  furnished  so 
I'any  beautifully  complete  skeletons  of  reptiles  as  have  the  Eocene  de- 
psits  in  the  basin  of  the  Rhone  River  which  have  been  described  by 
ibrtet.^®  A careful  study  of  his  monograph  shows  that  only  four, 
'lligatorium  Meyeri  (PI.  x),  two  specimens  of  Alligator ellum  Beaumonti 
fl.  xi),  and  Crocodileimus  robustus  (PL  ix),  exhibit  any  degree  of  the 
(pisthotonic  attitude.  Only  one,  Pleurosaurus  Goldfussi,  (PI.  vii)  ex- 
ibits  the  pleurothotonos.  The  majority  of  the  remaining  skeletons 
gured  show  no  spastic  distress  whatever.  Though  we  may  say  that 
pisthotonos  and  pleurothotonos  are  common  they  are  rather  the  un- 
’sual  than  the  usual  state  of  affairs. 

j The  two  dinosaurs,  Struthiomimus  altus  and  Compsognathus  longipes, 
iany  specimens  of  small  pterodactyls  and  the  toothed  bird,  Archeop- 
\^yx,  exhibit  such  a marked  opisthotonic  attitude  as  to  lead  one  to  infer 
Pme  cerebrospinal  or  other  intracranial  infection  which  would  have 
pen  easily  possible  in  the  poorly  protected  brain  case  of  these  early 
|srtebrates.  It  requires  but  a glance  at  the  nature  of  the  brain  case  of 
,|ie  early  vertebrates  to  see  how  poorly  protected  the  cerebrospinal 
)aces  were.  Ingress  of  infecting  bacteria  may  have  been  through  any 
t the  numerous  nerve  or  vascular  foramina,  through  the  thin  cancel- 
lus  walls  separating  the  brain  case  from  the  sphenoidal  sinus,  or 
jirough  the  anterior  end  of  the  brain  case  which  was  often  protected 
nly  by  a membranous  covering,  by  cartilage,  or  by  a very  thin  bony 
late.  The  presence  of  infecting  bacteria  has  been  well  established  and 
dealt  with  in  Chapter  IX. 

L.  C.  Lortet:  Les  ReptUes  du  Bassin  du  Rhone.  Archives,  d.  Mus.  d’Hist.  nat.  de 
yon,  V,  3-139,  12  pis.,  1892. 


332 


PALEOPA  THOLOGY 


SUMMARY 

The  significance  of  the  above  facts  in  a discussion  of  early  evidences 
of  disease  will  be  apparent  to  all,  and  it  was  in  hopes  of  shedding  lighi 
on  the  antiquity  of  cerebrospinal  infections,  as  well  as  to  make  a com 
parative  study  of  the  attitudes  of  fossil  vertebrates,  that  the  abovf 
comparisons  are  made.  In  the  light  of  the  above  evidences  it  seems  prob- 
able that  some  of  the  instances  of  opisthotonos  and  pleurothotono; 
among  fossil  vertebrates  may  be  due  to  acute  cerebrospinal  infections 
the  petrified  skeletons  exhibiting  trismus,  rigidity  of  the  limbs,  and  the 
peculiar  backward  curvature  of  the  vertebral  column  so  common  to- 
day as  clinical  manifestations  of  spastic  distress.  This  is  especially  prob- 
able in  the  cases  where  the  skeletons  exhibit  sych  marked  evidences 
of  tetanic  spasms  as  do  many  of  those  described  above.  It  may  ther 
be  said  that  opisthotonos  and  allied  phenomena  as  seen  in  thf 
skeletons  of  fossil  vertebrates  indicate  disease  only  in  those  exaggerated 
instances  of  the  spasm.  Not  all  vertebrates  preserved  in  opisthotonos 
are  necessarily  regarded  as  victims  of  cerebrospinal  disease  but  many  ol 
them  suggest  a strong  neuro-toxic  condition  and  insofar  are  to  be 
fairly  regarded  as  ancient  evidences  of  disease. 


OPISTHOTONOS  AND  ALLIED  PHENOMENA 


333 


[Descriptions  of  figure  27  and  plates  lxvi-lxviii  illustrating 

CHAPTER  X 


334 


PA  LEOPA  THOLOGY 


Figure  27 

Stenomylus  Hill,  Summit  of  the  Oligocene  or  Lower  Miocene,  Lower  Harriso 
Beds,  Sioux  County,  Nebraska.  Photograph  by  American  Museum  of  Natun 
History,  1908.  Numerous  primitive  camel  skeletons  (Plate  LXMI,  b)  were  dis 
covered  in  the  excavation  which  extends,  interruptedly,  on  the  other  side  of  th 
hill. 


Figure  27 


OPISTHOTONOS  AND  ALLIED  PHENOMENA 


335 


J' if 


PLATE  LXVi 


p.yi.^vP'1  •-.;> 


; ■ 

> . ;• 

' 


336 


PALEOPATHOLOGY 


PLATE  LXVI 
PLEUROTHOTONOS 

a.  The  skeleton  of  Plesiosaurus  macrocephalus,  a marine  reptile  from  the  Liaj 
(Jurassic)  of  Lyme  Regis,  England.  The  specimen  is  preser\^ed  in  a pleurothotonk 

attitude.  (After  Buckland.)  _ _ _ 

b.  Outline  of  body  and  impressions  of  the  cartilaginous  skeleton  of  a primitm 
shark,  Paleospinax  prisons  Agassiz,  from  the  Lias  of  Lyme  Regis,  England,  showing 
pleurothotonos.  (After  Dean.) 

c.  A coprolite  from  the  Permian  of  Texas. 


Plate  LXVI 


OPISTHOTONOS  AND  ALLIED  PHENOMENA 


337 


PLATE  LXVII 


338 


PALEOPA  THOLOGY 


PLATE  LXVn 
OPISTHOTONOS 

a.  The  Skeleton  of  a cursorial  dinosaur,  Struihiomimus  alius,  from  the  Belly 
River  Series,  Cretaceous,  of  Alberta.  The  skeleton  exhibits  a strong  opisthotonic 
reaction.  Original  in  the  American  Museum  of  Natural  History.  X 1 /30. 

b.  Skeleton  of  Sienomylus,  a camel  from  the  Lower  Miocene  of  Western 
Nebraska.  Collected  from  the  hill  shown  in  the  preceding  figure  27.  It  is  preserved 
in  a moderate  opisthotonic  attitude.  Original  in  the  Carnegie  Museum. 

c.  The  skeleton  of  Pterodactylus  micronyx  H.  von  Meyer  from  the  lithographic 
slates  of  Eichstadt  in  Bavaria.  The  original  is  in  the  paleontological  collections  at 
Munich.  This  specimen  shows  a strong  opisthotonos.  One-half  natural  size 
(After  BroUi.) 


Plate  LXVII 


OPISTHOTONOS  AND  ALLIED  PHENOMENA 


PLATE  LXVIII 


340 


PALEOPATHOLOGY 


PLATE  LX\TH 
OPISTHOTONOS 

a.  Bell’s  drawing  of  a man  in  opisthotonos. 

h.  The  skeleton  and  feather  impressions  of  the  oldest  known  bird,  Archeop- 
teryx  macroura  from  the  lithographic  slates  of  Bavaria,  showing  a strong  opistho- 
tonos. X 

c.  The  skeleton  of  the  small  dinosaur,  Compsognathus  longipes  Wagner,  from 
the  slates  of  Kelheim.  The  position  of  the  head  and  tail  are  characteristic  expres- 
sions of  the  tetanic  spasm.  (After  Hoernes.) 

d.  A fossil  ganoid  fish,  Acanthodes  gracilis  Roemer,  from  the  Permian  of 
Klein-Neundorf,  Lower  Silesia,  showing  an  opisthotonic  attitude.  (After  Hoernes.) 


Plate  LXVIII 


» 

CHAPTER  XI 

THE  EXTINCTION  OF  RACES 

Disease  as  a factor  in  extinction.  The  influence  of  diseases  of  the  skeleton  in  the  extinc- 
ion  of  races.  The  pathology  of  the  American  Mastodon. 

The  question  of  extinction  is  one  of  the  many  unsolved  problems  of 
hology,  although  repeated  attempts  have  been  made  and  numerous 
uggestions  offered^  which  bear  on  the  general  question.  There  is,  how- 
ver,  at  present  no  accepted  view  of  the  cause  of  extinction  in  many 
;roups  of  animals,  which  have  disappeared  suddenly,  apparently  while 
till  in  the  height  of  their  development;  since  it  is  probable  that  no 
»ne  factor  explains  all  cases.  Extinction  was  doubtless  due  to  a great 
^'ariety  of  causes  and  since  disease  has  been  suggested^  as  an  important 
actor  it  is  proper  to  include  here  a discussion  of  this  phase  of  paleo- 
pathology. It  was  in  the  hope  of  adding  light  on  this  question  that  the 
tudy  was  first  undertaken.  The  disappearance  of  the  gigantic  am- 
•hibians,  the  labyrinthodonts,  after  a relatively  short  but  vigorous  period 
f existence  during  which  they  attained  cosmopolitan  distribution, 
heir  remains  being  known  from  Spitzbergen,  Australia,  South  Africa, 
'.-urope,  Asia  and  North  America,  cannot  at  present  be  accounted  for 
n any  known  basis.  The  possibility  of  accounting  for  their  disap- 
earance  on  the  basis  of  diastrophic  changes  which  rendered  conditions 
nfit  for  their  continued  existence  has  been  suggested  and  while  this 
light  account  for  their  extinction  in  one  region  it  certainly  would  not 

0 so  for  all.  Why  should  they  be  limited  to  the  Triassic  in  regions  as 
;mote  as  Germany  and  Wyoming? 

Examples  almost  without  end  may  be  taken  from  the  geological 
istory  of  the  vertebrates  showing  that  numerous  groups  arose,  be- 
ime  widespread  in  their  distribution  and  suddenly  disappeared.  One 
f the  most  noted  examples  is  that  of  the  great  group  of  dinosaurs  which 
rose  in  the  Triassic  and  had  a continuous  existence  as  a race  for  many 

* C.  W.  Andrews:  Some  Suggestions  on  Extinction.  Geol.  Mag.,  Dec.,  IV,  x,  no.  463, 

1 1,  also  C.  B.  Crampton:  Proc.  Roy.  Phys.  Soc.,  Edinburgh,  xiv,  461. 

^ R.  S.  Lull:  Organic  Evolution,  1917,  pp.  224-228 — a general  discussion  of  the  problem 
id  various  suggestions  made. 


341 


342 


PALEOPATHOLOGY 


million  years,  becoming  extinct  at  the  close  of  the  Cretaceous.  Many 
forms  of  dinosaurs,  of  course,  died  out  before  the  race  was  extinct, 
and  the  latest  surviving  members,  huge,  spinescent  and  inoffensive  were 
totally  unlike  the  beginners  of  the  race.  Extinction  of  this  group  was 
not  a sudden  one  but  was  a gradual  process  and  was  of  great  duration. 
The  cause  was  racial  old  age  and  disease  may  have  been  a factor.  But 
whether  it  was  also  their  gigantic  size  and  consequent  unAvieldiness,  or 
whether  it  was  the  introduction  of  the  small  mammals  which  fed  on 
their  eggs  and  young  or  a change  of  climate,  is  uncertain.  It  may  have 
been  a combination  of  all  the  factors  mentioned. 

Osborn^  has  given  the  factors  of  extinction  among  mammals  and  has 
reviewed  the  literature  pertaining  to  this  question.  Howorth^  has  dis- 
cussed the  disappearance  of  the  various  types  of  Pleistocene  elephants, 
but  since  the  majority  of  this  discussion  is  foreign  to  our  purpose  we 
refer  the  reader  to  the  authors  mentioned  for  further  details  on  the 
question  of  extinction.  All  we  care  to  establish  is  the  general  problem 
of  extinction  and  then  consider  especially  the  relation  of  disease,  as  seen 
in  the  ancient  pathological  lesions,  to  the  extinction  of  the  various 
groups. 

DISEASE  AS  A FACTOR  IN  EXTINCTION 

The  beginnings  of  disease  are  intimately  associated  with  parasitism, 
and  parasitism  doubtless  had  an  important  influence  in  the  extinction 
of  many  prehistoric  races.  Early  parasitic  conditions  must  be  assumed 
because  there  are  few  evidences  of  this  in  the  remains  at  our  disposal. 
We  are  greatly  hampered  and  limited  in  our  observations  on  ancient 
parasitism  by  the  lack  of  all  soft  parts.  Parasitic  lesions  on  hard  parts 
are  rare  though  it  is  possible  that  parasites  inhabited  their  host  at  an 
early  geological  period.  We  have  no  way  to  disprove  the  presence  of 
infective  Sporozoa  in  the  Cambrian  or  pre-Cambrian.  We  are  limited 
here  to  speculations. 

It  is,  however,  a noteworthy  fact  that  many  groups  of  animals  be- 
came extinct  before  the  period  when  lesions  are  found  in  any  perceptible 
numbers.  The  eurypterids,  a group  of  gigantic  arachnids,  appeared  first 
in  the  Cambrian  (Strabops),  had  reached  their  maximum  development 
by  the  end  of  the  Silurian,  and  appear  in  scattered  forms  until  the 
Carbonic.  They  had  thus  largely  become  extinct  before  definite  path- 
ological lesions,  which  were  associated  with  diseases,  are  known.  The 

’ H.  F.  Osborn : The  Causes  of  Extinction  of  Mammalia.  American  Naturalist,  XL 
1906,  769-795,  829-859. 

H.  H.  Howorth:  The  Mammoth  and  the  Flood,  1887,  155. 


THE  EXTINCTION  OF  RACES 


343 


rilobites,  early  crustaceans,  were  among  the  first  of  the  higher  forms 

0 develop.  They  thrived  continuously  for  many  geological  periods 
nd  ended  their  career  with  the  Permian.  Other  instances  might  be 
ited  but  these  will  suffice  to  show  that  disease  has  not  always  been 
n important  factor,  since  it  was  almost  wholly  absent  during  the 
eriods  of  the  early  and  middle  Paleozoic. 

Osborn  has  called  attention  to  the  part  disease  may  have  played 

1 the  extinction  of  the  mammals,  basing  his  suggestions  on  the  preva- 
ince  of  certain  diseases  among  modern  mammals,  such  as  the  Texas 
wer,  ‘rinderpest,’  bihary  fever  and  the  diseases  transmitted  by  biting 
isects,  especially  the  tsetse  fly.  He  did  not,  however,  cite  any  in- 
tances  in  which  disease  is  known  to  have  played  a part  in  the  ex- 
inction  of  the  ancient  mammals,  and  it  is  not  hkely  that  epidemic 
iseases  of  which  he  spoke  would  leave  any  impress  upon  the  fossilized 
celeton. 

The  presence  of  several  species  of  tsetse  flies  (Fig.  b,  Plate  LXIX) 
f the  genus  Glossina  during  the  Ohgocene  is  established  by  the  studies 
f T.  D.  A.  Cockerell®  on  the  insects  from  the  Florissant  shales  of 
.'olorado.  This  discovery  is  very  suggestive  of  the  possibility  of  a 
idespread  epidemic  of  the  nagana  among  the  ungulates  of  the 
irly  Tertiary,  a million  or  more  years  ago.  It  is  of  course  im- 
ossible  to  determine  whether  or  not  these  flies  carried  trypanosomes, 
ut  the  definite  occurrence  of  the  insects  in  a horizon  of  the  Tertiary 
)cks  is  certainly  very  suggestive  of  such  a possibility,  and  must  be 
jnsidered  as  an  extremely  probable  cause  of  extinction,  and  as  an  al- 
lost  certain  factor  of  disease  in  ancient  times.  The  map  (Figure 
?)  will  show  how  distant  from  the  Colorado  region  is  the  region  of 
lodern  trypanosomiasis.  If  such  a disease  as  the  nagana  did  invade 
le  Tertiary  herds  of  horses  and  other  mammals  there  would  be  no  os- 
:ous  lesions  left  to  tell  the  tale,  since  this  disease  is  essentially  an  af- 
ction  of  the  blood,  and  blood-forming  organs,  spleen,  liver,  and  bone 
arrow®  and  does  not  attack  the  bones.  Trypanosomiasis  in  modern 
ittle,  mules,  and  horses  of  the  Sudan, South  and  Central  Africa, 
)uth  America  and  southern  Asia  is  due  to  the  presence  in  the  blood 
id  blood-forming  organs  of  Trypanosoma  brucei,  T.  nanum,  T. 

® New  species  of  North  American  fossil  Betties,  Cockroaches,  and  Tsetse  Flies.  Proc. 

S.  Nat.  Mus.,  Wash.,  1918,  liv,  301-311,  pi.  55. 

‘ Frederick  A.  Baldwin:  The  pathological  Anatomy  of  experimental  Nagana.  J.  Infect, 
s.,  i,  544-550,  1904. 

Andrew  Balfour:  Trypanosomiasis  in  the  Anglo-Egyptian  Sudan.  2nd  Rpt.  Wellcome 
search  Lab.,  Gordon  Memorial  College,  Khartoum,  1906,  113-172. 


344 


PALEOPATHOLOGY 


dimorpha,  carried  from  the  sick  to  the  well  by  several  species  of  tsetse 
flies,  notably  Glossina  morsitans  and  G.  longipennis. 

THE  INELUENCE  OF  DISEASES  OF  THE  SKELETON  IN 
THE  EXTINCTION  OF  RACES 

The  lesions  on  fossil  bones,  so  far  studied,  are  the  results  of  ac- 
cidents, or  of  infections,  and  none  of  them  are  extensive.  It  is  im- 
probable that  any  of  the  lesions  so  far  studied  were  so  severe  that  the 
life  of  the  race  was  endangered,  and  only  in  a few  instances  may  we  say 
that  the  life  of  the  individual  was  sacrificed  to  the  disease.  It  is 
extremely  doubtful  if  lesions  of  the  nature  of  most  of  those  seen  in  a 
fossil  condition  are  ever  fatal.  They  probably  resulted  in  the  loss  of 
usefulness  of  the  member  afflicted  and  no  other  result  was  noticeable. 

The  present  results  of  the  study  of  fossil  pathology  indicate  the  early 
appearance  in  geological  time  and  widespread  distribution  of  disease  of 
many  kinds,  but  none  of  them,  so  far  as  the  lesions  may  be  interpreted, 
appear  to  have  been  sufficiently  severe  to  have  played  a part  in  the 
extinction  of  any  of  the  known  races  of  vertebrates.  They  are  to  be  re- 
garded rather  as  chronic,  infectious,  or  constitutional  diseases  which 
may  have  played  a part  in  extinction,  but  there  must  have  been  some 
other  and  more  powerful  factor  which  is  at  present  unknown. 

PATHOLOGY  OF  THE  AMERICAN  MASTODON 

We  may  cite,  as  an  example  of  the  influence  diseases,  evidenced  on 
the  skeletal  remains,  may  have  had  on  extinction,  the  patholog}'^  of  the 
American  Mastodon.  This  form  of  elephant  was  exceedingly  abundant 
in  North  America  during  the  Pleistocene,  during  which  period  it  be- 
came extinct.  The  causes  of  its  extinction  are  problematical,  since  re- 
lated species  have  survived  in  Asia  and  Africa.  The  pathology  has  al- 
ready been  discussed  in  a detailed  fashion  in  the  preceding  pages,  and 
it  will  suffice  here  to  review  the  lesions  as  they  are  known.  Skeletal  re 
mains  in  abundance  indicate  that  the  IMastodon  was  on  the  v hole  a 
healthy  animal. 

Dental  caries  has  been  detected  in  various  specimens  of  elephant 
fossil  molars.  Although  thousands  of  fossil  mammals  have  been  col- 
lected extremely  few  of  them  show  effldences  of  dental  caries,  and  in 
none  are  the  evidences  so  clear  as  among  the  Pleistocene  ISIastodon. 
Leidy  has  described  an  example  of  advanced  dental  caries  in  a tooth 
from  Florida  and  Hermann  has  discussed  extensively  the  nature  oi 
similar  necroses  in  Pleistocene  teeth  from  Ohio.  The  fragmentarj  na 


THE  EXTINCTION  OF  RACES 


345 


ire  of  the  remains  renders  uncertain  whether  or  not  there  were  meta- 
ases. 

A necrotic  sinus  is  seen  in  the  left  temporal  fossa  of  a skeleton  which 
of  only  local  significance.  This  may  have  been  due  to  an  injury, 
ther  injuries  are  positively  indicated  in  a fractured  skull,  fractured 
bs  and  certain  other  lesions  of  a traumatic  origin.  It  seems  perfectly 
;rtain  from  this  evidence  that  disease  indicated  by  lesions  on  the 
leletal  remains  could  have  had  no  influence  whatsoever  on  the  ex- 
nction  of  the  Mastodon. 


1 


CHAPTER  XII 


PATHOLOGY  OF  THE  EARLY  HUMAN  RACES 

Pathological  femur  of  Pithecanthropus.  Pathology  of  the  men  of  the  old  stone  age 
Paleolithic).  Neolithic  Injuries.  Evidences  of  syphilis  among  ancient  men.  Prehistoric 
rephining.  The  use  of  the  cautery  among  Neolithic  and  later  primitive  peoples  as  a cause 
f skull  lesions.  The  amputation  of  fingers  among  primitive  races.  Descriptions  of  Figures 
8-35  and  Plates  LXIX-LXXIII  filustrating  Chapters  XI  and  XII.  Figures  28-35  and 
■latesLXIX-LXXIII. 

The  remains  of  the  stone  age  men  of  Europe  occasionally  show 
widences  of  disease  and  injury,  and  these  evidences  among  the  Neolithic 
ind  Paleolithic  races  of  western  Europe  have  been  studied  especially  by 
Raymond  (1912),  by  Le  Baron  (1881),  and  mention  of  sundry  other 
esions  is  made  by  Keith  (1916),  Manouvrier  (1903),  Ruffer  (1918.1), 
Baudouin  and  other  students  of  anthropology.  These  studies  are 
lecessarily  based  on  the  remains  of  human  races  which  occupied 
European  countries,  since  no  representatives  of  the  Neolithic  and  Pale- 
)lithic  peoples  are  to  be  found  in  the  Western  Hemisphere.  A discus- 
lion  of  prehistoric  trephining  is  introduced  in  this  chapter  since  this 
iperation  doubtless  indicates  certain  forms  of  disease  among  ancient 
nen,  and  was  of  itself  a traumatism. 

PATHOLOGICAL  PEMUR  OF  PITHECANTHROPUS 

The  oldest  well-authenticated  skeletal  remains  of  man  or  man  s 
irecursors  on  earth  were  found  in  1891-2  by  Dr.  E.  Dubois,^  then  a 
iurgeon  in  the  Dutch  Army,  while  engaged  in  paleontological  excava- 
:ions  along  the  left  bank  of  the  Solo  River,  near  Trinil,  in  the  central 
3art  of  the  island  of  Java.  These  important  remains  were  described  by 
Dubois.  His  work  was  immediately  received  as  one  of  the  greatest 
:ontributions  to  the  study  of  the  antiquity  of  man.  A rather  extensive 
iterature  has  grown  up  around  these  remains,  to  which  an  age  of  half  a 
nillion  years  has  been  assigned.  The  interest  to  us  in  this  curious  form 

* Pithecanthropus  erectus,  Batavia,  1894,  4°. 

347 


348 


PA  LEOPA  THOLOGY 


is  that  the  left  femur,  which  was  found  entire,  shows  marked  exostose^ 
indicating  the  presence  of  a pathological  condition. 

Under  the  leadership  of  Rudolf  Virchow,  on  December  14th,  1895 
there  was  called  a meeting  of  the  Berlin  Society  of  Anthropology  anc 
Ethnology  to  consider  especially  the  remains  of  Pithecanthropus  erectus 
as  these  elements  of  man’s  precursor  were  called.  Attention  was  callec 
by  Dubois,  Kollmann  and  Virchow  to  the  exostoses  on  the  femur 
Virchow  read  a paper  (1895.2)  in  which  he  showed  that  the  pathologi- 
cal conditions  in  the  extinct  form  (Figs,  a and  b,  Plate  LXXI)  were 
similar  to  exostoses  in  recent  human  skeletons,  and  he  exhibited  ex- 
amples (Fig.  d,  Plate  LXXI)  of  such  diseased  bones  from  the  collection' 
of  the  Berlin  Pathological  Institute. 

PATHOLOGY  OF  THE  MEN  OF  THE  OLD  STONE  AGE  (PALEOLITHIC) 

The  most  famous  of  the  skeletal  remains  representing  early  fossil 
(Upper  Paleolithic)  man  are  the  portions  of  a skeleton  of  an  extinct 
species  of  man  found  in  a cave  in  the  Neanderthal,  in  the  Rhine  pro\Tnce 
of  Prussia,  and  fully  described  by  Schaafhausen  (1858).  Some  of 
the  skeletal  elements  show  pathological  lesions,^  the  proximal  end 
of  the  left  ulna  (Fig.  c.,  Plate  LXXI)  doubtless  had  suffered  fracture  of 
the  olecranon,  which  had  healed  with  a widening  of  the  articular  fossa. 
The  left  humerus  show's  signs  of  injury  in  consequence  of  w'hich  it 
doubtless  remained  much  weaker  than  the  right  bone.  Caries  has  been 
said  to  be  evident  on  the  occiput  but  this  has  been  denied  by  Schwalbe 
(1901).  Virchow  (1872)  on  the  other  hand  regarded  the  pathological 
shortening  of  the  ulna  and  humerus  as  indicating  rickets,  and  on  ac- 
count of  these  deformities  no  rehance  could  be  placed  on  the  classi- 
fication of  the  skeleton.  Schwalbe,  in  restud}dng  the  specimen,  show’ed 
that  the  form  of  the  bones  w'as  typical  for  the  primigenius  t\"pe,  a con- 
clusion which  is  now  wddely  accepted.  Virchow  diagnosed  arthritis 
deformans  on  the  Neanderthal  man  and  on  a Neohthic  skeleton  from 
Tanger-Miinde. 

Sir  Auckland  Geddes  suggests  that  the  Piltdowm  skull^  is  patholog- 
ical, basing  his  conclusions  on  the  remarkable  thickness,  coupled  with 
the  characteristic  outline  of  the  temporal  ridge,  which  can  only  find 
their  diagnosis  in  Acromegaly,  and  that  it  is  to  this  that  the  specimen 
was  preserved.  These  may,  how'ever,  be  due  to  Paget’s  disease. 

^ Gorjanovic-Kramberger,  1908.  Anomalien  und  krankbafte  Erscheinuugen  am  Skelette 
des  Urmenschen  von  Krapina.  Die  Umschau,  .xii,  623-626. 

I-  Adanu;  Medical  Contributions  to  the  Study  of  Evolution,  16,  1918. 


ANCIENT  HUMAN  PATHOLOGY 


349 


NEOLITHIC  INJURIES 

One  of  the  most  interesting  cases  of  injury  in  early  (Neolithic)  man 

i a specimen  of  a lumbar  vertebra  showing  (Fig.  h.  Plate  LXX)  a 
sone  arrow  point  embedded  deeply  in  the  visceral  surface.  The  in- 
fvidual  was  shot  through  the  abdomen,  and  the  arrow  must  have  been 
(iming  with  terrific  force  since  it  penetrated  the  abdominal  wall  near  the 
mbilicus,  plowed  its  way  through  the  viscera  and  embedded  itself  so 
i:mly  in  the  body  of  the  vertebra  that  it  still  remains  fixed  after  thous- 
ads  of  years.  The  individual  may  have  died  of  peritonitis  or  he  may 
live  died  from  some  other  cause,  such  as  hemorrhage,  but  there  is  no 
idication  that  he  lived  a great  while  after  the  injury,  since  there  is  an 
asence  of  callus  around  the  wound. 

A skeleton  of  an  extinct  wild  bull,  as  mounted  in  the  museum  at 
(bpenhagen,  shows  some  rib  injuries  (Fig.  e.  Plate  LXX)  inflicted  by 
te  stone  arrow  point  of  early  hunters. 

' Arrow  point  injuries  are  fairly  common  (Plate  LXX)  and  other  ex- 
tciples  of  the  injury  are  known,  and  have  been  especially  well  de- 
sribed  among  the  North  American  aborigines.  Wilson^  writes  of  a skull 
I th  an  arrow  point  in  the  left  squamosal,  a pelvic  bone  pierced  by  a 
fht  arrow  (Plate  LXX)  point,  a lumbar  vertebra  penetrated  by  an 
£iow  of  white  quartz,  from  an  Indian  mound  in  Dakota.  Miller^  has 
dscribed  an  early  lumbar  vertebra  pierced  by  a spearpoint  (Plate 
]CII,  d)  of  antler.  He  has  reviewed  the  cases  and  illustrated  his  ob- 
srvation  with  an  excellent  photograph  of  the  lumbar  vertebra, 
i Stone  age  injuries  (Plate  LXX),  both  of  human  beings  and  wild 
aimals  are  well  known  as  may  be  seen  from  the  following: 

' There  is  no  question  that  the  wild  ox  was  hunted  by  prehistoric  man.  A skull 
fim  Burwell  Fen  has  a stone  weapon  buried  in  its  forehead;  a skeleton  from  Vig 
hPenmark  has  both  fresh  and  old  wound-scars  on  the  ribs  and  with  it  were  found 
tjee  stone  spear  points;  these  are  but  two  out  of  many  instances  of  this  kind. 
\iiile  thus  abundant  in  the  earlier  and  later  Stone  ages,  it  (the  wild  ox)  seems  to 
hj/e  disappeared  before  the  spread  of  civilization,  surviving  as  a wild  animal  only 

ii  ;he  great  forests  of  central  Europe.* 

1 

In  the  Neolithic  period  wounds  made  by  blows  from  hatchets,  ar- 
r V points  and  spear  points  were  fairly  common  and  have  been  widely 
dl  cussed®  and  a few  figures  (Plate  LXX)  are  given  which  show  the 

* Thomas  Wilson:  Arrow  Wounds.  Am.  Anthrop.,  Wash.,  N.  S.,  iii,  513. 

D M.  G.  Miller,  1913.  Human  Vertebra  transfixed  by  a Spearpoint  of  Antler.  J.  Acad. 
N . Sc.,  Phila.  xvi,  pt.  3,  477-480,  1 fig. 

I ' W.  D.  Matthew,  1921.  Urus  and  Bison.  Natural  History,  xxi,  605. 

J 'Emile  Cartailhac:  La  France  prehistorique  d’apres  les  sepultures  et  les  monuments. 
P|is,  8vo,  1903. 


350 


PA  LEO  PA  T HO  LOG  V 


nature  of  the  injuries.  Many  of  the  wounds  observed  on  the  skeleta 
elements  from  the  ancient  sepulchres  of  France  are  of  long  standing 
and  show  healed  margins  and  often  sequestrae,  giving  some  insight  int( 
the  nature  of  infection  (Plate  LXX,  d)  and  suppuration  thousands  o 
years  ago. 

Paul  Bartels^  has  described  a series  of  vertebrae  comprising  the  thirc 
to  sixth  thoracic  from  the  later  Neohthic  evidently  exhibiting  indica 
tions  (Plate  LXIX,  a,  c,  d)  of  Pott’s  disease.  This  is  thus  a very  ancien 
indication  of  tuberculosis,  and  should  be  compared  with  similar  condi 
tions  found  by  Hrdlicka  from  the  mounds  (Plate  XCI)  of  the  southeri 
States,  and  by  Buffer  and  Elliot  Smith  (Plate  LXXIV)  from  ancien 
Egypt.  Bartels  gives  a careful  review  of  anthropological  literatur. 
throwing  a light  on  certain  diseases  of  ancient  man  and  has  figure( 
radiographs  (Plate  LXIX,  c)  of  his  specimens  of  supposed  tuberculosi' 
The  specimens  show  a lordosis  and  erosion  by  caries,  such  as  describe^ 
by  Buffer  and  Smith,  and  in  these  two  particulars  the  disease  seems  t 
be  tubercular.  Whether  it  is  safe  to  diagnose  ancient  osseous  lesions  a 
due  to  definite  causes  is  to  be  determined  after  more  extended  studie 
on  such  conditions  have  been  made.  Bartels’  case  is  an  interesting  an 
suggestive  one. 

Le  Baron’s  thesis®  is  an  excellent  discussion  and  tabulation  of  th 
lesions  of  prehistoric  man  as  they  were  exhibited  by  the  remains  of  pre 
historic  man  in  the  museums  of  Broca  and  Dupuytren. 

The  author  defines  the  close  of  the  prehistoric  period  as  ending  i 
France  about  200  years  before  the  Christian  era  and  on  the  Africa 
coast  some  hundred  of  years  later. 

The  means  he  used  to  diagnose  the  lesions  was  simply  to  study  the; 
aspect  and  configuration  and  to  compare  them  wfith  the  identifie 
lesions  in  the  pathological  museums.  He  does  not  find  any  e\ddenct 
in  fossil  men  of  lesions  due  to  diseases  which  are  unknown  today.  Tt 
occurrence  of  syphihs  is  very  uncertain,  although  it  is  suggested  b 
certain  lesions. 

Le  Baron  classifies  the  lesions  found  in  the  prehistoric  human  r 
mains  of  France  and  Algeria  as  follows: 

1.  Lesions  mecaniques 

1.  Lesions  posthumes,  recentes  et  anciennes. 

^ Archiv  fiir  Anthropologie,  1907,  pi.  xv. 

® Le  Baron,  Jules  1881 — Lesions  osseuses  de  I’homme  prehistorique  en  France  et 
Algerie.  These  pour  le  Doctoral  en  Medicine  presentee  et  soutenuele  vendredi  1"  JuU: 

1881,  pp.  1-118. 


ANCIENT  HUMAN  PATHOLOGY 


351 


2.  Lesions  mecaniques  ayant  frappe  I’homme  andennes  vivant. 

I.  Lesions  par  armes  de  guerre.  36  specimens  described. 

II.  Lesions  dues  a un  accident.  18  specimens  described. 

III.  Trepanations.  4 examples. 

3.  Lesions  spontanees 

Lesions  de  la  tete. 

Lesions  des  membres. 

' Lesions  des  vertebres. 

His  conclusions  give  an  excellent  review  and  summary  of  this  note- 
orthy  contribution.  He  has  been  able  to  show  on  the  basis  of  the 
;)Ove  study  something  of  the  manners  and  customs  of  prehistoric 
!'cn,  some  details  of  surgical  operations  performed  by  them,  as  well  as 
1-  exhibit  something  of  the  nature  of  diseases  to  which  they  were  sub- 
xt. 

He  described  five  metatarsals  which  had  been  pierced  for  suspension, 
I’lssibly  in  the  form  of  a necklace;  a scapula  sculptured  in  the  form  of 
ibird,  and  a fibula  notched  by  a flint  knife.  These  facts,  added  to  those 
hich  have  already  been  published  by  various  authors,  point  to  the 
onclusion  that  prehistoric  man  had  barbarous  customs  and  was 
iithropophagus.  This  is  nothing  extraordinary  since  cannibalism 
i not  rare  among  primitive  peoples  today. 

, Many  of  the  lesions  show  injuries  which  indicate  that  war  was 
iiite  common  among  these  peoples.  Pillage  and  conquest  have  for  a 
lag  time  had  an  important  place  in  the  hfe  of  primitive  peoples.  It 
i notable  that  most  of  the  injuries  were  received  in  the  head.  They  are 
laws  from  stones,  clubs,  axes,  arrows,  swords  etc. 

One  searches  in  vain  among  recent  crania  for  evidences  of  such 
:.merous  lesions.  It  is  possible  that  pathology  has  been  modified  by 
•es  and  customs. 

It  is  remarkable  that  many  of  the  lesions  of  other  days  have  be- 
:me  matters  of  history,  while  other  lesions  previously  unknown  have 
:xome  more  and  more  frequent.  Who  does  not  remember  the  tales 
: the  terrible  plagues  of  which  historians  have  given  us  such  touching 
iscriptions?  Scurvey,  which  in  previous  times  had  decimated  the 
|ps,  became  less  and  less  frequent.  Hygienic  conditions  tended  each 
iy  to  dispel  those  maladies  which  of  old  had  been  mistress  of  the  field, 
uphills,  on  the  contrary,  relatively  rare  among  ancient  peoples,  has 
xorne  a common  disease,  since  transportation  has  rendered  the  ming- 
ig  of  peoples  more  easy.  Many  of  the  tribes  of  Oceania,  exempt 

m this  disease  at  the  beginning  of  the  century,  are  today  victims  of 

s dreadful  pest. 


352 


PALEOPATHOLOGY 


A curious  operation  practised  by  primitive  man  is  that  of  trepana- 
tion. The  method  of  performing  this  operation  by  means  of  scraping 
with  flint  has  been  explained  elsewhere.  This  was  not,  however,  the 
the  only  surgical  procedure.  They  reduced  and  fixed  fractures  with 
great  perfection.  Among  those  which  Le  Baron  described  there  are 
some  which  have  healed  without  dressing,  such  as  fractures  of  the  ribs 
and  the  lower  end  of  the  radius,  but  there  are  others  w'hich  could  not 
have  united  without  intervention  of  some  sort. 

Among  the  18  cases  there  are  only  3 which  have  healed  badly. 
Among  these  defective  cases  there  was  noticed  a fracture  of  the  femur 
The  union  was  very  imperfect,  but  in  spite  of  the  great  progress  made 
in  modern  surgery  it  would  be  possible  to  cite  recent  parallel  cases 

A resume  of  the  fractures  met  by  Le  Baron  among  fossil  men  is  a; 
follows:  four  fractures  of  the  lower  end  of  the  radius  (Colles’  fracture) 
a fracture  of  the  radius  in  the  upper  superior  third  (poor  union);  j 
fracture  at  the  middle  of  the  ulna  (good  union) ; a fracture  of  the  lowei 
third  of  the  humerus  (good  result) ; a fracture  of  the  humerus  belov 
the  surgical  neck;  a fracture  of  the  cla\dcle  (good  result);  a fracture  o 
the  body  of  the  femur  (poor  result) ; an  intracapsular  fracture  of  th 
neck  of  the  femur  (good  union) ; a fracture  of  the  tibia  below  the  mal 
leolus  (good  union,  in  spite  of  probable  suppuration) ; a fracture  of  th< 
superior  third  of  the  fibula  (satisfactory  consolidation,  but  some  callu 
of  both  bones  has  resulted);  five  fractures  of  the  ribs  (good  unions) 
two  fractures  of  the  clavicle,  wdth  good  unions,  discovered  in  a grave  k 
M.  Nicaise  at  Tour-sur-Marne,  concludes  the  list  of  the  known  frac 
tures  of  the  bones  of  prehistoric  men  of  France  and  Algeria. 

Other  maladies.  Arthritis  has  been  frequently  met  with  among  pre 
historic  bones.  Le  Baron  found  more  than  thirty  examples,  among  ther 
four  synostoses.  The  animals  which  inhabited  the  same  regions  an 
possibly  at  times  the  same  caverns  w^ere  not  more  fortunate  than  th 
men  for  their  skeletons  show  numerous  traces  of  arthri tides. 

Diseases  of  the  jaws  are  very  common  with  primitive  man.  Perk 
stitic  cysts  and  exostoses  are  not  at  all  rare.  Erosions  of  eight  teet 
seem  to  indicate  syphihtic  influence.  Other  e^ddences  of  syphilis  ai 
found  in  the  hyperostosis  of  a tibia,  but  the  evidence  is  doubtful  an 
if  it  is  syphilis  the  occurrence  of  this  disease  is  quite  rare. 

Other  interesting  lesions  which  have  been  met  with  are  the  follov 
ing:  alteration  of  the  skull  due  to  an  ulceration;  a scoliosis;  se^e^ 
hyperostoses  of  the  skull;  a case  of  h}'perostosis  of  the  tibia  due  to  a 


ANCIENT  HUMAN  PATHOLOGY 


353 


leer;  caries ; atrophy  of  the  skull;  an  unusual  exostosis  of  the  con- 
(yle  of  the  jaw;  a cancer  of  the  lower  jaw. 

! Paul  Raymond  in  his  paper®  has  described  and  figured  in  Neohthic 
jian  of  Europe  a case  of  spondylitis  deformans,  one  of  arthritis  of  the 
nee,  congenital  luxation  of  the  femur,  fracture  of  the  femur  with  callus, 
pd  syphilis  of  the  humerus  and  radius. 

; Raymond  reports  that  all  types  of  fractures  are  found  on  pre- 
istoric  bones.  He  discusses  the  frequence  of  arthritis  deformans  on  the 
ones  of  these  ancient  races,  attributing  this  deformation  to  their 
ihabiting  caverns,  but  he  failed  to  note  that  the  ancient  Egyptians  who 
id  not  live  in  caverns  were  likewise  afilicted  with  the  same  disease, 
n connection  with  arthritis  he  finds  considerable  spondyhtis  defor- 
lans  and  osteophyte  growth.  He  refers  to  cases  of  Neolithic  examples 
f Pott’s  disease,  vertebral  tuberculosis,  and  scoliosis. 

His  contribution  to  the  origin  of  syphilis  has  not  attracted  much 
ttention  and  his  evidence  is  worth  considering.  He  figures  a humerus 
;nd  radius  which  bear  evidence  of  lesions  resembhng  those  of  syphilis, 
lowever  convincing  his  figures  may  be  one  is  withheld  from  accepting 
ds  conclusions  outright  because  he  has  failed  to  give  the  evidence  on 
imich  he  has  based  his  statement  of  the  age  of  the  remains.  Neo- 
ithic  syphilis  in  Europe  may  be  a possibility  but  it  is  so  contrary  to  the 
ccepted  views  of  the  origin  and  history  of  this  disease  that  much  more 
omplete  data  will  need  to  be  presented  before  Neolithic  syphilis  can  be 
'stablished  as  a fact. 

EVIDENCES  OF  SYPHILIS  AMONG  ANCIENT  MEN 

In  studying  the  evidences  of  syphilis  among  early  human  races  it  is 
;ery  important  to  keep  in  mind  the  nature  of  the  fossil  bones  of  extinct 
jnimals  which  show  hypertrophy,  hyperostoses  and  carious  roughen- 
jig  quite  similar  to  the  lesions  frequently  diagnosed  among  ancient  bones 
jS  syphihs.  Such  diagnoses  are  of  uncertain  importance,  unless  backed 
|y  further  evidence.  Virchow  called  attention  to  this  similarity  in  his 
aper  on  the  history  of  syphilis  (1896).  He  had  previously  (1895.1) 
escribed  and  figured  carefully  the  hypertrophied  and  roughened 
adius  of  a cave  bear  (Fig.  h.  Plate  VIII)  which  resembles  strongly 
uman  bones  shoving  lesions  ascribed  to  syphilis  in  the  papers  of 
)rton  (1905),  Raymond  (1912)  and  Eaton  (1916).  Virchow  applied 
be  term  “Hohlengicht”  or  cave-gout  to  some  of  the  lesions  of  the  cave 

5 ® Raymond,  Paul  1912 — Les  Maladies  de  nos  ancetres  a I’age  de  la  Pierre.  Aesculape, 

|ol.  2,  pp.  121-123,  with  6 figs. 

! 

li 


( 


354 


PALEOPATHOLOGY 


bears,  referring  especially  to  the  spondylitis  deformans  and  other  arthritic 
lesions  seen  in  cave  bears  of  the  Pleistocene.  It  may  be  safely  said  that 
syphilis  has  not  been  definitely  shown  to  exist  anywhere  in  fossil  or  sub- 
fossil bones.  The  earliest  accepted  date  at  which  syphilis  is  definitely 
known  is  1495,  when  the  sailors  of  Columbus  carried  it  to  Naples. 

The  tubercle  of  Carabelli,  described  by  the  noted  dentist  of  Vienna^® 
as  a “Tubercidum  anomalus^’  occurs  on  the  anterior,  lingual  surface 
of  the  first,  second,  and  frequently  the  third  upper  molars.  Since 
aberrant  cusps  may  develop  at  any  one  of  three  places  along  the  lingual 
margin  of  the  molar,  there  has  often  been  some  confusion  in  the  proper 
identification  of  the  Tubercle  of  Carabelli.  The  presence  of  this  cusp  is 
often  said  to  be  indicative  of  congenital  syphilis,  and  Jeanselme 
(1918)  related  that  treatment  for  congenital  sy^philis  is  often  instituted 
on  the  basis  of  the  presence  of  this  cusp.  The  fact  that  this  cusp  is 
more  frequently  present  in  children  than  in  adults  and  in  primitive 
races  more  frequently  than  in  civilized  races,  and  its  wide  spread  oc- 
currence in  Neolithic  and  Paleolithic  dentitions  calls  for  its  discussion 
in  this  place.  Gorjanovic-Kramberger^^  says  that  the  tubercle  occurs 
in  nearly  all  of  the  first  and  second  upper  molars  of  the  fossil  human 
skeletons  from  Krapina,  W’hich  represent  a race  of  men  who  lived  about 
75,000  years  ago.  He  has  given  an  excellent  photograph  of  the  tuber- 
cle of  Carabelh  on  the  molars  of  fossil  man,  and  for  comparison  simi- 
lar cusps  on  the  molars  of  a native  of  Java  are  shown.  Batujeff  (1896) 
shows  that  the  presence  of  this  cusp  in  the  primitive  races  of  man  and 
many  genera  of  apes  is  of  wide  distribution.  A careful  study  of  the 
upper  molars  of  fossil  primates  might  reveal  the  presence  of  similar  cusps. 

Since  the  tubercle  of  Carabelli  has  such  an  ancient  history,  being 
demonstrable  many,  many  thousands  of  y-ears  prior  to  our  knowledge  of 
the  occurrence  of  sy^philis,  it  is  difiicult  to  see  that  it  has  any  sig- 
nificance in  a diagnosis  of  disease.  Especially'  is  this  a probable  solu- 
tion since  Hutchinson’s  teeth,  so  long  regarded  as  diagnostic  of 
congenital  sy^phihs,  have  been  recently  shown  to  be  due  to  faulty 
nutrition.  The  tubercle  of  Carabelli  may  be  regarded  as  the  persistence 
of  an  ancient  character,  and  while  it  may  be  hereditary,  it  certainly 
can  have  nothing  to  do  with  syphilis.  The  following  table,  adopted 
from  Osborn,  shows  the  time  relations  of  these  ancient  human  remains. 

Carabelli,  George  C.  1842 — Systematisches  Handbuch  der  Zalmheilkunde,  Bd.  II, 
Anatomic  des  Mundes,  p.  107. 

" Gorjanovic-Kramberger,  1907 — Die  Kronen  und  tVurzeln  der  Mahlzahne  des  Homo 
primigenius  und  ihre  genetische  Bedeutung.  Anat.  Anz.,  Jena,  xxxi,  llS-120,  fig.  13. 


eological  Perioc 

Stone  Cultures  and 

Division 

Human 

Cold  Periods 

Types 

Animal  types 

Modern 

Recent  faunas 

Prehistoric 

races 

RECENT 
uration,  25,00C 

Bronze  age 

Ancestors 

Reindeer 

^ears 

Neolithic 

Neolithic 

of  moderr 

periods 

man 

Azilian-Tardenoisan 

UPPER  PAL- 

Crenelle 

Magdalenian 

EOLITHIC 

Cr6-Mag- 

[ 

Solutrean 

non 

Aurignacian 

Grimaldi 

25,000  yrs.* 

Neander- 

thal 

•Ancient  horses 

U 

Elephants,  hip- 

Mousterian 

potami,  woolly 

50,000  yrs. 

(Krapina) 

rhinoceros,  hairy 
mammoth,  lions 

Acheulean 

LOWER  PAL- 

and  bears 

75,000  yrs. 

EOLITHIC 

Chellean 

100,000  yrs. 

Piltdown 

Man 

Prechellean 

125,000  yrs. 

LEISTOCENE 

Third  Glacial  Period 

duration 
500,000  yrs. 

150,000-200,000  yrs. 

Second  Interglacial 

Heidelberg 

Period.  200,000- 
350,000  yrs. 

Man 

Second  Glacial  Period. 

Cave  bears  and 

350,000-400,000  yrs. 

their  associates 

First  Interglacial  Pe- 
riod. 425,000-450,000 
years. 

- 

First  Glacial  Period 
475,000-500,000  yrs. 

( 

Man’s  pre- 
:ursor  Pithe- 

Saber  toothed 
cats.  Ancient 

horses  and  ele- 
phants. Extinct 
mammals. 

canthropus 

(Trinil) 

JOCENE 

525,000  jTS.  from  the 

uration 

close  of  the  Pliocene  to 

Extinct  mam- 

i)0,UOO  yrs. 

the  opening  of  the  Re- 

mals 

cent 

This  indicates  25,000  yrs.  prior  to  the  Recent  period,  which  has  itself  persisted  for 
,000  yrs. 


356 


PALEOPATHOLOGY 


PREHISTORIC  TREPHINING^ 

Trepanning  (Plate  LXXII)  or  trephining  the  skull  was  an  operation 
frequently  performed  10,000  years  ago  in  Neolithic  times,  especially 
in  western  Europe^®  and  in  Bohemia. “ 

Evidences  of  its  practice  in  early  times  are  also  found  in  Bolivia,^^ 
Peru,^®  North  America, Mexico  (Figure  29)  and  Central  Amer- 
ica, although  none  of  these  latter  evidences  are  of  Neohthic  age. 
There  is  no  evidence  of  the  operation  being  performed  by  either  the 
Hindoos  or  Chinese,  nor  amiong  the  Greeks  and  Romans.  A single 
doubtful  example  is  known  from  Egypt.  Some  trepanned  skulls  have 
been  discovered  in  Gaul,  belonging  to  an  epoch  corresponding  to  that 
of  Roman  civilization. 

The  contemporary  hill-tribes  of  Daghestan,  the  natives  of  Tahiti, 
the  Polynesians,  and  Loyalty  Islanders,  the  Kabyl  tribes  (but  not  the 
Arabs  or  Negroes  in  contact  with  them)  Montenegrins,  and  the  Aymara 

'^Trephining  is  discussed  here  because  the  operation  indicates  some  forms  of  disease  or 
injury,  and  because  the  operation  itself  was  a traumatism,  often  of  a verj'  serious  and  fre- 
quently fatal  nature.  The  present  discussion  is  not  an  exhaustive  account  of  the  subject  but 
the  majority  of  the  literature  has  been  seen  and  is  referred  to  in  this  chapter. 

'5  Neolithic  trephining  has  been  discussed  by  a number  of  writers,  the  subject  being  ap- 
parently initiated  by  Prunieres:  Deux  nouveaux  cas  de  trepanation  chirurgicale  neolithique. 
Bull.  Soc.  d’anthrop.  de  Paris,  1876,  551,  although  there  are  a number  of  papers  at  about 
the  same  time,  such  as  Chauvet:  Trepanations  prehistoriques.  Bull.  Soc.  d’Anthrop.  de  Paris, 
1877,  12;  Paul  Broca:  Sur  la  trepanation  du  crane,  et  les  amulettes  craniennes  al’epoque  neo- 
lithique, Paris,  80,  also  by  the  same:  Sur  Page  des  sujets  soumis  a la  trepanation  chirurgicale 
neolithique.  Bull.  Soc.  d’anthrop.  de  Paris,  1876,  572,  and  Congres  d’anthrop.  etd’archeol. 
prehist.,  Budapest,  1876,  101-192,  as  well  as  De  IMortillet:  Trepanation  prehistorique.  Bull. 
Soc.  d’anthrop.  de  Paris,  1882,  v,  iii  ser.  143-146. 

There  are  mteresting  reviews  by  m.any  authors,  of  which  the  most  complete  is  H.  Till- 
mans: Ueber  praehistorische  Chirurgie.  Archiv  f.  klin.  Chirur.,  xxviii,  775-802,  1 pi.  Other 
reviews  by  Keith  (1916,  p.  20),  Fletcher  (1882),  Manouvrier  (1903),  Derry  (1914),  Rufter 
(1918),  Freeman  (1918)  should  be  referred  to  in  this  connection.  The  following  account  of  the 
subject  is  based  on  the  above  essays. 

" B.  DudDc:  Ueber  trepanirte  Cranien  im  Beinhause  zu  Sedlec  (Bohmen).  Zeit.  f.  Eth- 
nol.,  1878,  227. 

A.  F.  Bandelier:  Aboriginal  Trephining  in  Bolivia.  Am.  .^nthrop.  X.S.,  vi,  440-446, 

1904. 

E.  George  Squiers:  Incidents  of  Travel  and  Exploration  in  the  land  of  the  Incas,  New 
York,  1877,  456.  The  skull  brought  back  b}^  Squiers  is  also  described  in  the  unique  publica- 
tion of  the  Journal  of  the  Anthropological  Institute  of  New  York  for  1871-72*,  vol.  1,  no.  1 
(aU  ever  published),  as  well  as  in  the  report  by  hi.  A.  hluniz  and  W.  J.  hIcGee:  Primitive 
Trephining  in  Peru,  16th  Ann.  Rep.  Bur.  .-hm.  Ethnolog)*,  Wash.,  1897,  pi.  Ill,  and  a line 
drawing  of  it  is  shown  in  a figure.  The  skuU  was  shoira  to  the  Paris  Society  of  Anthropolog}’, 
but  is  now  in  the  American  Museum  of  Natural  Histoiyc  See  Plate  CIX,  d. 

'’Henry  Gillman:  Certain  Characteristics  pertaining  to  ancient  hlan  in  hlichigan. 
Smithson.  Kept.,  Wash.,  234-245,  13  figs.,  1875. 


ANCIENT  HUMAN  PATHOLOGY 


357 


Indians  in  Bolivia  and  probably  in  the  highlands  of  Peru  still  perform 
this  operation,  and  thus  express  their  behef  in  its  efidcacy.  The  opera- 
tion in  Bolivia  is  performed  by  the  shaman,  who  is  often  also  a medi- 
cine man,  with  a well  sharpened  pocket-knife,  piece  of  sharp  glass  or 
sharp-edged  stone,  (Frontispiece)  the  process  being  one  of  cutting  or 
scraping.  The  operation  is  often  performed  following  a depressed  skull 
fracture  received  in  one  of  the  frequent  brawls  of  the  Indians  on  feast 
days.  Many  of  the  skulls  (see  Chapter  XV)  showed  evidences  of  more 
than  one  operation  and  as  many  as  four  were  seen.  The  openings  are 
large  and  crudely  made  and  the  operation,  fatal  in  a very  high  percent- 
age of  cases,  must  have  been  excruciatingly  painful. 

Common  and  widespread  (Figure  29)  as  trephining  was  in  Neolithic 
times  yet  very  little  is  known  of  its  purpose  or  the  method  of  pro- 
cedure of  the  prehistoric  surgeon.  Broca  decided  that  prehistoric 
surgical  trephining  was  performed  for  the  rehef  of  certain  internal 
maladies.  He  suggested  that  it  was  performed  on  young  epileptic  or 
mad  persons  to  rid  them  of  the  “genius,”  the  “demon”  causing  the 
dreaded  symptoms.  They  may  have  performed  the  operation  for  the 
relief  of  depressed  fracture,  but  as  most  of  the  trephined  skulls  show 
no  signs  of  accidents,  headache  was  very  probably  the  chief  indication 
for  this  operation.  A religious  significance  has  been  attached  to  the 
procedure  but  there  is  no  recent  evidence  to  support  this  view. 

The  trephine  hole  (Plate  LXXII,  c)  is  usually  located  on  the  upper 
and  posterior  part  of  the  parietal  bone,^®  probably  because  this  region 
was  most  easily  accessible  to  the  operator  in  a period  when  beds  and 
chairs  were  not  used.  The  operation,  according  to  Lucas-Champion- 
niere,^^  was  not  performed  by  scraping,  since  this  would  take  a long 
time,  would  result  in  profuse  hemorrhage,  and  would  not  result  in  the 
production  of  a rondelle  or  cranial  amulet,  so  prized  by  prehistoric 
peoples  for  wearing  as  a necklace  (Fig.  6,  Plate  LXXII),  but  was  doubt- 
less produced  by  a sharp  cutting  or  sawing  instrument,  doubtless 
similar  to  the  methods  employed  by  the  New  Caledonians  today. 

The  operation  was  often  performed  several  times  on  the  same  per- 
son and  Neolithic  skulls  are  known  with  three  and  four  trephine 
openings.  Its  frequency  is  suggested  by  the  discoveries  in  the  Neoli- 

The  two  skulls  described  by  Manouvrier  ( 1903)  were  trephined,  one  in  the  temporal, 
the  other  in  the  posterior  part  of  the  frontal.  One  of  the  skulls  described  by  Prunieres  is  tre- 
phined in  the  right  occipital. 

Lucas-Championniere,  “La  Trepanation  prehistorique”  Paris,  1878;  “Les  Origines  de 
la  trepanation  compressive,”  Paris,  Steinheil,  1912. 


358 


PALEOPATHOLOGY 


thic  sepulchral  chambers  at  Vendrest,  some  sixty  miles  to  the  east  of 
Paris.  Remains  of  over  a hundred  and  twenty  individuals,  represent- 
ing both  sexes  and  all  ages,  were  found  within  this  ancient  tomb.  A 
fall  of  earth  and  rocks  had  buried  the  doorway  of  the  sepulchre  about 
the  close  of  the  Neolithic  period,  for  all  the  worked  flints  and  orna- 
ments found  within  the  sepulchre  were  of  that  age.  No  less  than  eight 
skulls  had  been  opened  by  trepanning  and  many  of  them  had  survived 
the  operation  as  seen  by  the  healing  of  the  edges  of  the  wounds,  a proc- 
ess of  extreme  slowness  in  the  injured  skulls  of  adults. 

THE  USE  OF  THE  CAUTERY  AMONG  NEOLITHIC  AND  LATER 
PRIMITIVE  PEOPLES  AS  A CAUSE  OF  SKULL  LESIONS 

The  anthropologic  features  of  cauterizations  wxre  first  investigated 
by  Manouvrier,  a French  anthropologist,  who  studied  the  curious 
lesion,  since  known  as  the  sincipital  T,  on  skulls  bearing  marks  of 
cauterization  of  the  scalp  (Figure  31)  from  dolmens  belonging  to 
the  Neolithic  period  (3000-7000  B.  c.).  The  crania  in  question  were 
collected  from  the  Dolmen  de  la  Justice  at  Epone,  near  Mantes,  on  the 
Seine  River,  Seine-et-Oise,  in  France.  This  dolmen  had  been  known 
since  1833,  as  MacCurdy  tells  us,^®  and  it  w^as  commonly  supposed  from 
its  dilapidated  appearance  that  it  had  long  ago  been  explored  and 
robbed  of  its  contents.  In  1881  M.  Perrier  de  Came,  of  Mantes,  thought 
it  worth  while  to  obtain  from  the  owner,  Madame  Piot,  a permit  to 
excavate,  and  was  surprised  to  find  the  sepulture,  wMch  usually  lies 
beneath  these  mounds,  intact  and  containing  pottery,  stone  imple- 
ments, ornaments,  and  portions  of  60  skeletons,  with  12  crania.  These 
dolmens  are  often  extensive,  the  largest  known  covering  an  area  of 
five  and  a half  acres,  and  attaining  a height  of  130  feet.  Under  the 
earth  mounds  are  usually  found  sepulchral  chambers;  often  interesting 
examples  of  primitive  architecture.  The  highest  expansion  of  the 
dolmen  is  to  be  found  in  the  pyramids  of  Egj'pt,  which  are  elaborate 
examples  of  the  same  idea.  The  Indian  mounds,  so  common  in  North 
America,  are  of  the  same  type,  and  instances  of  similar  methods  of 
burial  are  found  in  South  America  in  the  chulpas  of  ancient  Peru. 
There  are  many  thousands  of  these  dolmens  in  western  Europe,-^ 
about  8000  in  England  alone. 

G.  G.  MacCurdy;  1905 — Prehistoric  Surgery — a Neolithic  Survival.  Amer.  Anthropol., 
vii,  No.  1,  pp.  17-23,  1 plate. 

F.  Pomerol,  1894.  Squelette  humaine  neolithique  avec  crane  trepane  et  lesions  tuber- 
culeuses  des  vertebres.  Assoc,  franc,  pour  I’avance  d.  sc.  C.  R.  1893,  Paris,  xxii,  pt.  2,  699- 
706. 


ANCIENT  HUMAN  PATHOLOGY 


359 


The  skeletal  material,  obtained  from  the  Dolmen  de  la  Justice,  at 
Ep6ne,  was  referred  to  Professor  Manouvrier  for  study  and  descrip- 
tion. Among  other  interesting  observations  he  noted  that  3 of  the 
female  crania  were  marked  by  curious  lesions  on  the  vertex,  and  simi- 
lar on  all  the  skulls.  The  mutilations  were  in  the  form  of  a T-shaped 
(Plate  LXXIII)  cicatrice,  for  which  Manouvrier  could  offer  no  ex- 
planation. The  lesion  takes  the  form  of  a long  anteroposterior  groove 
or  ridge,  extending  from  the  anterior  curve  of  the  frontal,  along  the 
sagittal  suture,  terminating  usually  near  the  obelion,  where  the  trans- 
verse branch  is  encountered,  but  at  times  extending  on  down  over  the 
occiput  to  near  the  foramen  magnum.  In  a Peruvian  skull,  (Plate 
CIV)  described  below,  the  sagittal  lesion  has  a length  of  210  mm. 
fading  out  into  indefinite  lesions  anteriorly  and  posteriorly. 

The  transverse  lesion  is  not  long,  having  in  the  Peruvian  skull  a 
length  of  150  mm.,  though  in  the  Neolithic  skulls  it  was  shorter.  The 
transverse  lesion  is  in  all  cases  curved  anteriorly.  The  scars  in  the 
Neolithic  skulls  are  evidently  the  result  of  lesions  of  the  scalp  made 
during  life,  and  are  often  deep  enough  to  affect  either  directly  through 
contact  or  indirectly  through  suppuration  the  periosteum  and  adjacent 
bone. 

Manouvrier  found  in  the  Broca  collection  3 other  female  skulls 
showing  similar  cicatrices.  These  skulls  came  from  dolmens  in  the 
neighborhood  of  the  Dolmen  de  la  Justice,  and  were  found  in  the  dol- 
mens at  Vaureal,  Conflans-Sainte-Honorine,  and  Feigneux,  all  in  the 
Department  of  Seine-et-Oise.  The  lesion  in  one  of  these  3 skulls  was 
very  slight,  in  the  other  either  the  wound  or  the  subsequent  suppuration 
had  uncovered  the  diploe. 

No  other  pathologic  features  were  present  on  the  skulls.  The  lesions 
were  often  interrupted,  as  if  the  knife  making  the  incision  did  not 
always  come  in  contact  with  the  periosteum.  Various  explanations 
were  offered  for  these  lesions,  and  Manouvrier  suggested  that  an  ex- 
planation might  be  found  in  practices  connected  with  religion,  war, 
penal  justice,  mourning,  therapeutics,  and  coiffure.  The  lines  of  in- 
cisions usually  follow  the  line  of  parting  of  the  hair,  and  it  is  possible 
that  the  incisions  were  made  here  because  of  the  ease  of  access. 

Interest  in  the  subject  was  thus  aroused,  and  other  dolmens  north 
of  Paris  were  searched  for  further  examples  of  skulls  bearing  the 
sincipital  T.  Among  40  skeletons  found  by  M.  Fouju  in  a dolmen  of 
Menouville,  near  ITsle  d’Adam,  north  of  Paris,  5 skulls  showed  evi- 
dences of  surgical  interference;  3 undoubted  cases  of  trepanation;  the 


360 


PALEOPATHOLOGY 


Other  2 showing  portions  of  the  sincipital  T.  After  studying  other  speci- 
mens, especially  those  described  by  Verneau  from  the  Dolmen  de- 
Mureaux,  Manouvrier  reached  the  conclusion  (Plate  LXXIII)  that 
cauterization  by  burning  or  other  treatment  appeared  the  most  proba- 
ble, and  doubtless  corroborated  the  idea  that  there  were  surgeons 
among  many  of  the  Neohthic  peoples  who  hved  near  the  Seine  and  the 
Oise  rivers  who  had  recourse  to  the  process  as  a therapeutic  measure 
not  less  terrible  than  their  practice  of  trepanation. 

The  next  step  in  the  proper  interpretation  of  these  ancient  lesions 
was  a comparison  between  the  prehistoric  evidences  and  more  recent 
ones,  especially  the  ancient  Guanche  skulls  described  by  von  Luschan 
from  the  Canary  Islands,  where  25  skulls  showed  scarification  similar 
to  the  Neohthic  ones  studied  by  Manouvrier.  Von  Luschan  regarded 
the  operation  as  related  to  trepanning  and  distinctly  of  a surgical  nature. 

An  intimate  insight  into  the  possible  method  of  procedure  among 
the  Neohthic  surgeons  in  cauterization  may  be  gathered  from  the  quo- 
tation, given  by  MacCurdy,  from  the  work  of  Lehmann-Nitsche,  who 
says  that  the  ancient  chroniclers  of  the  Canary  Islands,  as  cited  by 
Chilly  Naranjo,  say  that: 

They  made  large  scarifications  with  their  stone  knives  on  the  skin  of  the  part 
affected,  and  then  cauterized  the  wound  with  roots  of  malacca  cane  dipped  in  boil- 
ing grease;  preference  being  given  to  the  use  of  goat’s  grease. 

This  suggestion  of  Lehmann-Nitsche’s,  combined  with  a new  ob- 
servation by  Manouvrier  on  ancient  surgical  practices  as  outhned  by 
Brachet,  prove  beyond  question  that  the  sincipital  T marks  on  ancient 
crania  and  those  of  later  times  may  be  explained  on  the  same  basis — that 
of  cauterization.  Brachet  quotes  Avicenna  and  Albucasis,  as  set  forth 
in  the  works  of  Daremberg  and  Leclerc,  to  the  effect  that  in  cases  of 
melanchoha  cauterization  was  resorted  to  in  order  to  reduce  the  amount 
of  cold  humors  in  the  head.  Sudhoff  has  shown  the  various  types  of 
incisions  made  for  cauterization  of  the  forehead,  temple,  and  sinciput. 
These  are  shown  in  Figure  31,  A,  B,  C.  That  this  surgical  lore  was 
handed  down  from  Neolithic  times  to  the  surgeons  of  the  Dark  Ages 
there  can  be  little  question.  Some  of  the  Links  in  the  chain  of  e\ddence 
are  lost  OAving  to  the  practice  of  incineration  in  some  periods,  but 
enough  is  known  to  estabhsh  the  practice  beyond  question.  The  final 
link  was  supplied  by  Manouvrier,  who  described  a skull  (Plate  LXXIII) 
which  showed  in  numerous  ways  the  results  of  the  cauterization  in  a 
female  skull  from  the  dolmen  of  Champignolles,  between  the  Seine 


ANCIENT  HUMAN  PATHOLOGY 


361 


and  the  Oise.  As  may  be  seen  from  the  figure,  the  skull  is  perforated  in 
two  places.  These  openings  are,  without  doubt,  the  result  of  cauteriza- 
tion (Frontispiece)  and  may  have  been  intentionally  burned  there  by 
the  surgeon  in  his  zealous  desire  to  drive  out  the  demon  of  melancholia. 

It  is  a long  way  from  the  Seine-et-Oise  country  (Figure  29)  to 
Peru,  but  in  this  latter  place  evidently  the  same  practice  (Plates  CIV 
and  CV)  came  into  existence  some  five  thousand  or  six  thousand  years 
later.  It  is  not  surprising  to  find  tliis  same  practice  in  these  widely 
separated  areas,  since  it  has  been  previously  shown  that  trephining 
was  practised  in  northern  France  (Plate  LXXII)  and  in  Peru  (Plates 
CVII-CIX)  and  very  little  elsewhere  in  ancient  times.  These  two 
regions  seem  to  have  been  the  foci  for  the  development  of  primitive 
surgical  practices,  though  there  was  no  means  of  intercommunication 
possible. 

It  is  extremely  odd  that  nearly  all  the  injured  skulls,  with  possibly 
two  exceptions,  were  female.  The  Peruvian  skull  is  that  of  a female 
(Chapter  XV).  The  lesions  on  the  pre-Columbian  female  skull  from 
Peru  may  be  regarded  as  a variant  of  the  Neolithic  T (Moodie,  1921.1). 
The  surgeon^^  seems  to  have  been  eager  to  make  a good  incision,  since 
he  penetrated  not  only  the  scalp  and  the  galea  aponeurotica,  but  also 
the  periosteum  and  left  a widely  gaping  wound,  which  after  contact 
with  the  cauterizing  substance,  boiling  oil  or  heated  object,  became 
violently  infected,  and  produced  during  the  course  of  a few  weeks  an 
enormous  hypertrophy  of  bone,  especially  in  the  outer  skull  table. 
The  incisions,  instead  of  making  a sincipital  T,  are  in  the  form 
(Figure  31)  of  a latin  cross  with  the  longer  portion  of  the  upright 
anterior  to  the  obelion  (see  Frontispiece). 

THE  AMPUTATION  OF  FINGERS  AMONG  PRIMITIVE  RACES 

The  primitive  mind  worked  in  a curious  manner.  If  an  ancient 
man  performed  a procedure  which  we  today  called  surgery  he  was  not 
aware  of  doing  anything  unusual  or  unique.  When  the  shaman,  medi- 
cine man,  or  priest  amputated  a finger,  trephined  a head,  cauterized  a 
scalp,  or  sucked  the  pus  from  a wound,  he  had  no  intention  of  counter- 
acting some  antagonistic  phase  of  nature,  but  to  exorcise  a demon,  to 
let  out  the  evil  spirits,  or  to  in  some  manner  appease  an  angry  god. 
Gods  dwelt  in  every  object  of  nature  and  the  simple  mind  of  man  saw 
only  the  steps  necessary  to  appease  them.  Surgery  thus  had  its  begin- 

”A.  F.  LeDouble,  1889.  La  Medicine  et  la  Chirurgie  dans  les  temps  prehistoriques. 
Tour,  8°. 


362 


PALEOPATHOLOGY 


nings,  and  to  these  simple  beginnings  we  have  applied  the  name  of 
surgery,  because  we  have  adapted  them  to  other  ends.  Science  of  all 
kinds  was  nebulous  in  its  origin. 

Shamanism,  from  which  early  surgical  procedures  were  evolved,  is 
well  known  in  many  parts  of  the  world  as  a phase  in  rehgious  evolution. 
All  races  of  men  at  an  early  stage  of  their  development  display  this 
form  of  concept  in  some  manner.  Although  the  term  was  first  applied 
only  to  the  practices  observed  among  some  tribes  of  northern  Asia,  it 
has  lately  been  more  generally  used  to  express  the  placatidn  and  con- 
trol by  magic  and  fetichistic  rites  of  spirits  or  demons  who  are  sup- 
posed by  primitive  man  to  rule  all  mankind  and,  indeed,  the  whole 
realm  of  nature.  The  shaman  was  thus  not  only  a practitioner  of 
sorcery,  able  to  drive  off  the  spirits  which  bring  death,  sickness  and  mis- 
fortune, and  to  invoke  others  which  confer  success  and  love,  but  he  was 
a priest,  who  by  communion  with  the  higher  powers  learns  and  after- 
ward teaches  to  others  the  form  of  practice  used  in  the  cult.  The  term 
“medicine-man”  is  an  awkward  compound,  invented  by  the  early 
explorers  of  North  America,  which  is  entirely  misleading,  since  it 
conveys  some  conception  of  therapeutics.  If  they  had  a pharmacal 
knowledge  or  any  idea  of  healing  it  was  a secondary  matter  to  that  of 
appeasing  the  spirit. 

The  practices  evolved  by  a race  in  its  more  primitive  state  were 
abandoned  after  they  had  progressed  to  a better  understanding.  Thus 
trephining  was  not  used  as  a relief  for  headaches  or  to  let  out  the 
demon  after  the  rise  of  the  conception  that  the  god  could  be  as  well  ap- 
peased by  some  allegoric  object,  such  as  a gourd  vdth  an  opening,  which 
was  presented  as  a trephined  head  to  the  god,  who  would  accept  it  in 
lieu  of  the  actual  operation.  Surgery  among  the  primitive  races  of  man 
is  thus  a very  obscure  thing.  That  primitive  men  had  any  definite  con- 
ception of  what  constituted  surgery  is  doubtful.  The  processes  per- 
formed by  them  we  call  surgery  now,  and  they  do  indicate  some 
knowledge  of  ligation,  stoppages  of  hemorrhage,  sepsis,  and  the  hke. 
They  had,  too,  some  meager  knowledge  of  anatomy. 

When  an  Australian  native  slashed  his  arms  or  body  crosswise 
with  a flint  knife  to  make  the  beautifying  scars  (Figure  35)  neces- 
sary to  his  idea  of  cosmetics  he  was  alwmys  careful  to  avoid  cutting  any 
of  the  larger  arteries.  It  is,  therefore,  the  intention  to  point  out  the 
procedures  among  ancient  man  wdrich  indicate  any  knowledge  of 
anatomy,  surgery,  or  treatment,  on  the  basis  of  which  a logical  evolu- 
tion of  modern  surgery  may  be  founded. 


ANCIENT  HUMAN  PATHOLOGY 


363 


How  or  why  primitive  man  came  to  the  conclusion  that  the  amputa- 
tion of  a finger  or  fingers  would  appease  a god  or  add  to  their  personal 
beauty  is  unknown.  We  do  know,  however,  that  the  later  Paleolithic 
races  (the  Aurignacian)  of  France  and  Spain,  who  inhabited  that 
country  some  seven  thousand  years  ago,  had  practised  the  sacrifice, 
since  they  have  left  silhouettes  of  hands  with  amputated  finger  stumps 
(Figure  33)  on  the  walls  of  many  caves.  These  silhouettes  were 
made,  doubtless,  by  placing  the  hand  on  the  wall  of  the  cave  and  blow- 
ing thereon  a mouthful  of  pigment,  red  ochre,  or  other  mineral  pig- 
ment which  they  used  to  adorn  their  persons.  The  impulse  to  do  this  is 
doubtless  the  same  which  induces  the  average  school  child  to  outline 
his  hand  in  pencil  or  chalk.  At  any  rate,  these  silhouettes,  protected 
from  the  weather  in  the  caves,  show  us  that  it  is  an  old  custom  and  we 
know  it  persists  to  the  present  day. 

Such  imprints  have  been  found  on  the  walls  of  caves  in  California, 
Arizona,  Peru,  Africa,  and  Australia  in  recent  times,  (Figure  34) 
and  a similar  imprint,  known  as  the  “red  hand,”  has  also  been  observed 
in  Egypt,  Palestine,  Arabia,  Babylonia,  India,  Phoenicia,  and  Mexico. 
The  custom  is  thus  well  authenticated.  The  purpose  of  the  amputa- 
tion was  as  various  as  the  countries  in  which  it  was  employed.  It  was 
a symbol  of  mourning  in  the  Nicobar  Islands.  It  was  a sacrifice  in 
India,  demanded  at  the  death  of  a ruler.  It  was  a part  of  the  initiation 
ceremony  among  certain  Indians  of  North  America;  to  appease  a god; 
as  a distinguishing  mark  of  caste;  as  a preparation  for  marriage,  and  for 
other  obscure  reasons. 

The  operation  wms  often  confined  to  the  httle  finger,  and  was 
performed  by  a flint  knife,  the  incision  being  made  at  the  joint  and  the 
first  amputation  involving  only  the  terminal  phalange.  Hemorrhage 
was  stopped  by  a bandage,  by  applying  fats,  and  by  heat,  such  as  a 
heated  stone.  Rare  cases  have  been  observed  in  which  an  individual, 
usually  a wom.an,  had  sacrificed  the  last  two  joints  of  all  fingers  of  both 
hands.  Imprints  on  the  Aurignacian  caves  of  the  Paleolithic  of  France 
indicate  a similar  extent  of  the  practice.  The  surgical  aspect  of  the 
amputation  is  obscured  in  its  symbohsm,  but  that  it  was  a surgical 
procedure  is  obvious.  Ligation  was  often  employed  in  severing  a 
finger-joint.  A thread  of  sinew  being  bound  about  the  joint  was  daily 
constricted  until  the  joint  fell  off.  An  Indian  youth  was  observed 
to  place  his  finger  on  the  sacred  buffalo  skull  and  chop  it  off  with  a 
stone  hatchet.  Such  a sacrificial  custom  indicates  some  shght  surgical 
knowledge,  though  of  a crude  variety. 


364 


PALEOPATHOLOGY 


The  primitive  races  of  Australia  and  some  of  the  races  of  Africa 
at  the  time  of  puberty,  or  later,  have  a custom  of  scarifying  the  body 
with  long,  though  not  deep  cuts  of  a flint  knife,  involving  the  skin 
(Figure  35)  and  superficial  fascia.  The  resulting  scar  tissue  was 
thought  to  be  very  beautiful.  Scarification  of  the  tissues  for  therapeutic 
purposes  has  not  been  seen.  Some  knowledge  of  anatomy  was  expressed 
by  the  care  that  was  taken  to  avoid  the  larger  blood-vessels,  and  a few 
cases  of  death  from  hemorrhage  have  been  recorded.  The  incisions, 
made  a few  at  a time,  bled  profusely,  and  no  apparent  attempt  was 
made  to  control  the  flow  of  blood.  The  individual  was  often  greatly 
weakened.  To  secure  a beautiful  adornment  of  the  entire  body  often 
consumed  several  weeks  or  months.  It  is  remarkable  that  there  are  so 
few  cases  of  sepsis  involved  either  in  tattooing  or  scarification,  and  the 
absence  of  keloids,  to  which  negroes  are  especially  prone,  is  an  interest- 
ing commentary  to  the  oft-recorded  observation  of  the  immense  re- 
sistance possessed  by  primitive  races  of  man  and  wild  animals.  We 
are  thus  more  readily  able  to  understand  the  rarity  of  pathology  among 
ancient  and  primitive  races  of  uncivihzed  man.  We  pay  for  our  civili- 
zation in  terms  of  pathology  and  lowered  resistance. 


ANCIENT  HUMAN  PATHOLOGY 


■365 


DESCRIPTIONS  OF  FIGURES  28-35  AND  PLATES  LXIX-LXXIII  ILLUSTRATING 

CHAPTERS  XI  AND  XII 


366 


PALEOPATHOLOGY 


Figure  28 

Geographic  distribution  of  the  phases  of  trypanosomiases  affecting  animals. 
(After  A.  Laveran  and  F.  Mesnil,  1912.  Trypanosomes  et  Trypanosomiases,  p.  5.) 


Figure  28 


ANCIENT  HUMAN  PATHOLOGY 


367 


FIGURE  29 


368 


PA  LEOPA  THOLOGY 


Figure  29 

Outline  map  of  the  world  showing  distribution  of  the  areas  in  which  pr 
historic  trephining  is  known  to  have  occurred. 


Figure  29 


ANCIENT  HUMAN  PATHOLOGY 


369 


FIGURE  30 


370 


PALEOPATHOLOGY 


Figure  30 

The  relations  of  the  early  human  types  as  seen  in  a genealogical  tree  of  man’s 
ancestry.  The  depths  of  the  rock  deposits  and  the  duration  of  the  geological 
periods  are  based  on  estimates  by  Sollas.  An  inspection  of  the  figure  shows  how 
little  is  known  of  the  ancestry  of  man,  but  it  represents,  in  concrete  form,  a working 
hypothesis.  On  it  one  may  trace  the  development  of  surgical  knowledge.  (After 
Keith.) 


RECEriT 


PLEISTOCEUE 

4,000  ft 

400,000Y£AR5 


PLIOCEIIE 

5,000 -Ft. 

SOO, 000  YEARS 


MIOCEUK 

3,000  ft. 

300,000  YEARS 


OLDOWAY 
COnBE  CAPELLS 
-HEAnDERWAL 
GALLEYWLL 

HEID ELDER 

EOAUWROPUS 

PlTHECAnriiROPUS 


HUnATlGTEn 


HUJfAnOLD  STEf] 


Figure  30 


ANCIENT  HUMAN  PATHOLOGY 


371 


FIGURES  31-32 


372 


PALEOFA  THOWGY 


Figure  31 

Schemata  of  scalp  incisions  made  at  various  periods,  from  the  Neolithic  to  the 
Middle  Ages,  to  allow  the  application  of  heated  objects,  irritants,  or  other  sub- 
stances to  the  heads  of  demented  individuals,  usually  women.  A,  B,  and  C show 
the  type  of  incisions  made  in  the  Middle  Ages  for  the  relief  of  the  “cold  humours 
in  the  head.”  (After  Sudhoff.)  A made  on  the  forehead.  B made  on  the  temple. 
C made  on  the  occiput.  D the  type  of  incision  used  by  the  Neolithic  surgeons 
of  northern  France,  of  which  A,  B,  and  C,  are  doubtless  descendants,  though  they 
differ  from  the  variant  of  the  sincipital  T used  in  Peru,  and  seen  on  the  female 
Peruvian  skull  shown  in  Fig.  49. 


Figure  32 

Map  showing  location  and  relation  of  Neolithic  and  recent  trephining  in 
Europe  and  northern  Africa. 


A 


C 


B 


Figure  31 


deseet 


Figure  32 


ANCIENT  HUMAN  PATHOLOGY 


373 


FIGURES  33-34 


374 


PALEOPA  THOLOGY 


• Figure  33 

Silhouettes  of  hands  in  red  and  black,  as  depicted  on  the  walls  of  the  cave 
at  Gargas,  Spain,  of  the  Aurignacian  age  (late  Paleolithic,  possibly  20,000  years 
old).  These  impressions  of  amputated  hands  and  fingers  were  selected  out  of  a 
series  of  over  200  and  indicate  a truly  shocking  prevalence  of  finger  amputations 
among  these  primitive  peoples.  Numerous  attempts  have  been  made  to  show  that 
these  imprints  do  not  represent  amputations,  but  without  success.  The  custom 
has  doubtless  been  prevalent  since  early  in  the  Paleolithic  and  has  endured  today. 
It  is  the  representation  of  the  oldest  surgical  procedure;  older  even  than  trephining. 
(After  SoUas.) 


Figure  34 

Virchow’s  figures  of  mutilated  hands  of  a Bushman  seen  from  the  back.  A.  Last 
joint  of  little  finger  amputated,  but  retains  a vestige  of  a nail.  B.  Similar  to  A. 
but  with  no  trace  of  a nail.  C.  The  last  joint  of  the  first  and  second  finger  and  the 
tip  of  the  third  have  been  removed.  A.  and  B.  male;  C.  female. 


Figure  34 


ANCIENT  HUMAN  PATHOLOGY 


375 


FIGURE  35 


1 


« 

t;'  - 

■ ■ ■.  ■ 


376 


PA  LEOPA  THOLOGY 


Figure  35 

a.  Scars  on  the  body  of  an  Australian  native. 

b.  Primitive  knife  which  may  have  been  used  in  making  the  cuts,  (.\fter 
Sollas.) 


Figure  35 


ANCIENT  HUMAN  PATHOLOGY 


377 


378 


PALEOPA  THOLOGY 


PLATE  LXIX 

NEOLITHIC  POTT’S  DISEASE 

a and  d.  Right  and  left  views  of  the  upper  dorsal  vertebrae  of  a young  man  of 
the  Neolithic  period  (5000  b.  c.)  found  near  Heidelberg  and  regarded  by  Bartels 
as  indicative  of  the  oldest  case  of  Pott’s  disease.  The  symbols  “R2,”  etc.  refer  to 
the  costal  articular  facets.  The  Roman  numerals  indicate  the  position  of  the  verte- 
brae in  the  thoracic  series.  The  kyphosis  is  quite  evident.  (After  Bartels.) 

h.  A fossil  tsetse  fly,  Glossina  veterna  Cockerell,  from  the  Florissant,  Oligocene, 
shales  of  Colorado.  The  specimen  is  12.5  mm  long.  Photograph  by  courtesy  of 
Dr.  R.  S.  Bassler. 

c.  Radiograph  of  the  necrotic  area  of  above  series.  (After  Bartels.) 


Plate  LXIX 


B»"  - ' TJMJ'  - Jl 


ANCIENT  HUMAN  PATHOLOGY 


379 


PLATE  LXX 


380 


PALEOPATHOLOGY 


PLATE  LXX 
STONE  AGE  INJURIES 

a.  Human  lumbar  vertebra  of  a late  stone  age  man  (Neolithic)  pierced  by  a 
flint  arrowhead,  found  in  a cavern  sepulcher  near  the  Marne,  France.  (After  Ver- 
neau.) 

b.  Lumbar  vertebra  of  a late  stone  age  man  (Neolithic)  with  a flint  arrowhead 
embedded  in  the  visceral  surface.  The  stone  age  hunter  was  shot,  either  purposely 
by  an  enemy  or  accidentally  by  a companion.  The  arrow-point  entered  the  abdo- 
men near  the  umbilicus  and  the  man  died  shortly  afterwards,  possibly  from  a 
hemorrhage  due  to  the  severance  of  a large  artery.  So  firmly  fixed  was  the  arrow- 
point  that  it  has  remained  embedded  in  the  bone  for  more  than  7000  j’ears  when  it 
was  found  bj^  a noted  young  archeologist,  Dechellette,  who  himself  lost  his  life 
in  the  great  war  soon  after  sending  the  photograph  to  Dr.  Breasted,  from  whose 
reproduction  the  drawing  was  made. 

c.  Lumbar  vertebra  of  a young  reindeer.  Neolithic  period,  pierced  by  a flint  ar- 
rowhead. It  will  be  noted  that  the  arrow-point  injuries  showm  in  a,  b,  and  c are 
all  in  lumbar  vertebrae,  possibly  because  in  this  region  of  the  body  the  vertebral 
column  is  more  exposed  to  trauma,  the  thoracic  and  cervical  being  better  protected 
by  limbs  and  ribs.  (After  Verneau.) 

d.  Human  tibia  with  an  ornamented  flint  arrowhead  embedded  under  a con- 
siderable amount  of  callus,  shown  by  the  exostosis  to  the  right.  (After  Cartailhac, 
from  a specimen  found  at  Font-Rial,  France.) 

e.  The  injured  rib  and  the  circumstances  under  which  it  was  found  form  an 
interesting  instance  of  how  ancient  events  may  be  reconstructed.  The  wound  was 
inflicted  on  the  rib  of  this  wild  bull  bj^  the  arrow  of  a late  stone  age  hunter,  and  a 
later  wound  brought  about  the  death  of  the  animal  in  the  Danish  forests  possibly 
10,000  years  ago.  At  the  fatal  hunt  several  arrows  pierced  the  bull’s  vitals,  one  of 
them,  however,  broke  off  and  the  arrow'-point  found  with  the  skeleton  is  still  pre- 
served in  the  Copenhagen  museum  w'here  the  animal’s  remains  are  mounted.  While 
the  wounded  bull  was  trying  to  swim  across  a neighboring  lake  he  died  and  his  body 
sank  to  the  bottom.  The  pursuing  hunter,  on  reaching  the  lake,  found  no  trace  of 
his  quarry.  In  the  course  of  thousands  of  years  the  lake  filled  up  entombing  the 
body  of  the  bull,  and  there  in  the  peat  his  skeleton  was  found  in  1905,  and  em- 
bedded with  it  were  the  flint  arrows  which  killed  him.  (Breasted.) 


Plate  LXX 


ANCIENT  HUMAN  PATHOLOGY 


381 


PLATE  LXXI 


382 


PALEOPATHOLOGY 


PLATE  LXXI 

ANCIENT  HUMAN  PATHOLOGY 

a.  Anterior  view  of  the  left  femur  of  the  oldest  known  human  representative, 
Pithecanthropus  erectus,  portions  of  whose  skeleton,  500,000  years  old,  were  found 
in  1891  in  a river  deposit  in  Java.  The  femur  shows  an  extensive  medial  exostosis 
due  to  some  chronic  infection  or  other  irritation  along  the  line  of  the  tendinous 
attachment  of  the  iliopsoas  and  pectineus  muscles.  This  is  the  oldest  example  of 
human  pathology. 

b.  Posterior  view.  (After  Dubois.) 

c.  Left  ulna  of  the  Neanderthal  man  showing  in  the  widened  olecranal  fossa 
evidences  of  injury.  Drawn  from  a photograph  of  the  original  by  Hrdlicka. 

d.  Modern  human  femur  showing  medial  exostoses  similar  to  those  exhibited 
by  the  Pithecanthropus.  This  drawing  was  used  by  Virchow  to  demonstrate  to  the 
anthropological  society  of  Berlin  that  the  pathology  of  the  most  ancient  man-like 
form  was  similar  to  modern  pathology.  Some  scholars  had  argued  that  the  femur 
was  not  human,  being  misled  by  the  pathological  deformation. 


Plate  LXXI 


ANCIENT  HUMAN  PATHOLOGY 


383 


PLATE  LXXII 


384 


PALEOPATHOLOGY 


PLATE  LXXn 
NEOLITHIC  TREPHINING 

a and  b.  Cranial  amulets  or  “rondelles”  possibly  taken  from  trephine  openings 
in  the  living,  but  more  probably  derived  from  dead  skulls.  These  are  supposed  to 
have  been  used  as  charms,  and  are  often  perforated  (B)  and  worn  as  a necklace. 
(After  Fletcher.) 

c.  Neolithic  trephined  skull,  with  the  openings  in  an  unusual  place.  From  a 
cavern  on  the  Marne,  France.  (After  Verneau.) 


Plate  LXXII 


ANCIENT  HUMAN  PATHOLOGY 


385 


PLATE  LXXIII 


386 


PALEOPATHOLOGY 


PLATE  LXXni 
PRIMITIVE  SURGERY 

Upper  figure.  A female  Neolithic  skull  (six  thousand  years  old)  from  Seine-et- 
Oise,  France,  showing  the  effects  of  cauterization  of  the  head,  possibly  for  the  relief 
of  mental  disturbances.  The  surgeon  w.as  so  eager  to  effect  a cure  that  he  burned 
holes  through  the  skull  twice  on  the  posterior  portion  of  the  right  parietal.  The 
sincipital  T is  shown  in  the  upper  left  corner.  The  slight  scar  on  the  right  frontal  is 
an  accidental  burn.  (After  Manouvrier.) 

Lower  figure.  An  example  of  modern  primitive  surger}".  A trephined  skuU, 
showing  also  effects  of  the  cautery,  of  an  inhabitant  of  Kabylia  in  northern  Africa. 
The  results  are  incomplete  indicating  possibly  that  the  patient  died  during  the 
operation.  (After  Verneau.) 


Plate  LXXIII 


CHAPTER  XIII 


DISEASES  OF  THE  ANCIENT  EGYPTIANS 

Biographical  sketch  of  Sir  Marc  Armand  Ruffer.  Diseases  of  the  ancient  Egj'ptians. 
Chronological  table  of  kings  of  Egypt.  Arteriosclerosis  in  the  aorta  of  the  Pharaoh  of  the 
Exodus.  Other  arterial  lesions  among  early  Egyptians.  Histological  studies  of  Egyptian 
nummies.  An  eruption  resembling  small-pox.  Vesical  calculus.  Early  evidences  of  schisto- 
iomiasis.  Rickets  in  ancient  Egypt.  Appendicitis.  Sjunmetric  osteoporosis  of  the  skull. 
Prolapsus  viscerum.  Hydrocephalus  in  early  Egypt.  A psoas  abscess-tuberculosis-Pott’s 
lisease.  A pelvic  osteosarcoma.  Osseous  lesions  in  early  Egyptians.  Poliomyelitis.  Tre- 
ohining  in  Egypt.  Lesions  in  the  mummified  animals  of  Egypt.  Syphilis  in  Egypt.  De- 
jcriptions  of  Figures  36-41  and  Plates  LXXIV-LXXXVII  illustrating  Chapter  XIII.  Figures 
36-41  and  Plates  LXXIV-LXXX\4I. 

BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH  OF  SIR  MARC  ARMAND  RUFFER^ 

Sir  Marc  Armand  Ruffer  was  born  at  Lyons,  France,  in  1859,  the 
son  of  Baron  Alphonse  Jacques  de  Ruffer.  He  was  educated  at  Brasen- 
ose  College,  Oxford,  where  he  took,  his  B.  A.  degree  in  1883,  and  at 
University  College,  London,  becoming  a bachelor  of  medicine  and 
surgery  in  1887  and  M.  D.  in  1889.  He  then  became  a pupil  of  Pasteur 
and  Metchnikoff*  at  the  Pasteur  Institute,  devoting  special  study  to 
the  then  novel  subject  of  phagocytosis.  He  described  the  diphtheritic 
membrane  as  “a,  battlefield,”  in  which  pathogenic  bacteria  and  amoe- 
boid leucocytes  contend  for  mastery.  In  1891,  Ruffer  became  the  first 
director  of  the  British  Institute  of  Preventive  hledicine.  At  IMetch- 
nikoff’s  suggestion,  Ruffer  took  up  the  study  of  cancer  and  established 
the  provisional  status  of  the  quasi-parasitic  formations  in  cancer  cells. 
While  testing  the  new  diphtheritic  serum  at  the  Institute,  Ruffer  was  so 
severely  smitten  with  the  paralytic  sequelae  that  he  felt  compelled 
to  resign  his  directorship.  He  then  went  to  Eg^-pt  for  recuperation 
and  subsequently  took  up  his  permanent  residence  at  the  Villa  Menival, 
Ramleh,  Egypt. 

He  later  became  professor  of  bacteriology  in  the  Cairo  IMedical 
School,  and  was  president  of  the  Sanitary,  Maritime  and  Quarantine 
Council  of  Eg}pt  (1901-17),  in  wliich  office  he  was  instrumental  in 

* Extracted  from  “Memorial  Notice  of  Sir  Marc  Armand  Ruffer”  by  F.  H.  Garrison, 
■tnn.  Med.  Hist.,  N.  Y.,  i,  no.  2,  218-220,  portrait. 


387 


388 


PALEOPATHOLOGY 


ridding  Egypt  of  cholera  by  rigorous  hygienic  pohcing  of  the  routes  of 
pilgrimage  at  the  Tor  Station  and  elsewhere. 

He  made  his  mark  in  the  medical  history  of  ancient  Egypt  by  his 
contributions  to  its  paleopathology,  in  particular  the  paleohistology  of 
the  pathological  lesions  found  in  mummies  of  the  XVIII-XXVII 
dynasties. 

At  the  opening  of  the  European  War  he  was  head  of  the  Red  Cross  in 
Egypt.  He  left,  in  the  winter  of  1916-17,  for  Salonika,  to  reorganize 
the  sanitary  service  of  the  Greek  Provisional  Government,  and  met 
his  death  at  the  hands  of  the  enemy  while  at  sea  in  the  spring  of  1917. 
Thus  were  interrupted  his  studies  on  the  paleopathology  of  Egypt,  but 
Lady  Ruffer  has  already  prepared  a volume  of  antiquarian  studies 
(Ruffer,  1921)  which  will  be  a permanent  record  of  his  unique  and 
memorable  discoveries  in  the  paleopathology  of  Egypt. 

DISEASES  OF  THE  ANCIENT  EGYPTIANS 

It  was  in  Egypt  that  the  foundations  for  the  study  of  Paleopathol- 
ogy were  first  laid.  Eouquet^  initiated  the  subject  in  Egypt,  so  suc- 
cessfully followed  by  Sir  Marc  Ruffer.  The  pathological  conditions 
which  are  encountered  among  these  ancient  Egyptians,  covering  a 
range  of  several  thousand  years,  are  many.  Pott’s  disease  (Plate 
LXXIV),  pneumonia,  small  pox,  (Plate  LXXVII),  deforming  arthriti- 
des  of  many  kinds,  renal  abscesses,  arteriosclerosis  (atheroma), 
many  types  of  fractures,  necroses,  tumors  (Plate  LXXIX),  cirrhosis 
of  the  liver,  caries,  alveolar  osteitis  (Plates  LXXXIV-LXXXV),  and 
many  other  interesting  lesions  may  be  discerned. 

Syphilis  has  been  reported  by  De  Morgan  (1897)  to  occur  among  the 
ancient  Egyptians,  although  the  evidences,  as  indicated  by  Fouquet, 
are  uncertain.  Lortet  and  Gaillard,  (1903-1909),  in  their  study  of  the 
ancient  fauna  of  Egypt,  such  as  birds,  hzards,  crocodiles,  antelope, 
bulls,  dogs,  cats,  and  other  forms  of  vertebrates,  have  reported  lesions  of 
syphilis  on  the  skull  (Plate  LXXXVI)  of  a young  woman.  The  lesions 
take  the  form  of  irregular  erosions  in  the  outer  table  of  the  frontals  and 
in  the  anterior  portion  of  the  parietals.  They  recall  those  described 
by  Eaton  (1916),  in  a child’s  skull  from  ancient  Peru,  ascribed  to 
syphilis  (Plate  CII,  b). 


“ Fouquet’s  results  are  to  be  found  in  the  1897  volume  of  J.  De  Morgan’s  “Recherches 
sur  les  origines  de  I’Eg^’pt”  under  the  heading  “Observ'ations  Pathologiques”  pp.  350-373; 
also  the  1896  volume  p.  225  and  268. 


DISEASES  IN  ANCIENT  EGYPT 


389 


The  first  attempt  to  review  the  field  of  Egyptian  Paleopathology 
73.5  made  by  Dr.  Klebs,  who  discussed  osteitis  deformans,  tuberculosis, 
steoporosis  (Plate  LXXX),  rachitis  and  syphilis,  injuries,  fractures  and 
islocations  (sepsis)  and  diseases  of  the  soft  tissues.  He  closes  his 
rticle,  based  on  a paper  read  before  a meeting  of  the  Johns  Hopkins 
lospital  Historical  Club,  with  the  best  bibliography  of  papers  which 
..as  so  far  appeared.  Similar  reviews  are  given  by  Garrison  and 
■udhoff. 

, The  following  accounts  of  diseases  in  ancient  Eg^^t  are  based  on 
he  Hterature.  I have  had  many  of  the  illustrations  redrawn  and  have 
hstracted  all  available  articles.  In  order  to  make  the  discussion  of 
he  relative  age  of  the  various  mummies  more  understandable  there 
3 appended  a “Chronological  Table  of  Kings  of  Egypt.”  The  value  of 
he  study  of  mummies  has  been  as  important  from  an  historical  as 
rom  a medical  standpoint. 

Accounts  of  the  diseases  of  modern  Egyptians  are  given  by  Sand- 
nth®  and  by  Hrklicka,^  but  since  modern  diseases  do  not  immediately 
oncern  us  the  reader  is  referred  to  these  authors.  ' 

! 


CHRONOLOGICAL  TABLE  OF  KINGS  OF  EGYPT 
(After  Breasted — 1909 — History  of  Egypt,  p.  597-601) 


See  ancient  Records  of  Egypt,  I,  38-75) 

Tote:  All  dates  with  asterisk  are  astronomically  fixed. 

ntroduction  of  Calendar 4241  b.  c. 

iccession  of  Menes  and  Beginning  of  Dynasties 3400  b.  c. 

First  and  Second  Dynasties  3400-2980  b.  c. 

Eighteen  Kings 420  years 

Third  Dynasty,  2980-2900  b.  c. 

Zoser  to  Snefru 80  years 

Fourth  Dynasty,  2900-2750  b.  c. 

Khufu 23  years 

Dedefre , 8 years 

Fifth  Dynasty,  2750-2625  b.  c. 

I Userkaf 7 years 

Sahure .’ 12  years 

Neferirkere X 

Shepseskere 7 

Khaneferre x 

Nusere 30 

Menhuhor 8 

Dedkere-Isesi .• 28 

Unis 30 


Total — 122  years.  Minimum  125  years. 


^ Sandwith,  F.  M.,  The  Medical  Diseases  of  Egypt,  London,  1905. 

^ Hrdlicka,  Ales,  The  Natives  of  Kharga  Oasis,  Egypt.  Smithson.  Misc.  Collect.  Wash. 
912,  Ux,  no.  1. 


390 


PALEOPATHOLOGY 


Sixth  Dynasty,  2625-2475  b.c. 

Teti  II 
Userkere 

Pepi  1 21  years 

Mernere  1 4 years 

Pepi  II 90  years 

Mernere  II 1 year 

Total — 116  years.  Known  length  150  years 

Seventh  and  Eighth  Dynasties,  2475-2445  b.  c. 

Known  total  30  years 

Ninth  and  Tenth  Dynasties,  2445-2160  B.  c. 

Eighteen  Heracleopolitans,  estimated 285  years 

Eleventh  Dynasty,  2160-2000  b.  c. 

Horns  Wahenekh-Intef  1 50  years 

Horns  Nakhtneb-Tepnefer  II 
Horns  Senekhibtowe-Mentnhotep  I 
Nibhapetre-Mentnhotep  II 

Nibtowere-Mentnhotep  HI 2 years 

Nithepetre-Mentnhotep  IV 46  years 

Senekhbere-Mentnhotep  V 8 years 

Twelfth  Dynasty,  2000-1788  b.  c. 

Amenemhet  1 30  years 

Sesostris  1 45  years 

Amenemhet  II 35  years 

Sesostris  II 19  years 

Sesostris  HI 38  years 

Amenemhet  III 48  years 

Amenemhet  IV 9 years 

Sebeknefrnre 4 j-ears 

Thirteenth  to  Seventeenth  Dynasties,  1788*-1580  b.  c. 

Inclnding  the  Hyksos 208  years 

Eighteenth  Dynasty,  1580-1350  B.  c. 

Ahmose  1 22  3’ears 

Amenhotep  1 10  years 

Thntmose  1 30  j'ears 

Thntmose  HI 54  years 

Amenhotep  II 26  j-ears 

Thntmose  IV 8 years 

Amenhotep  HI 36  years 

Amenhotep  IV 17  j-ears 

Sakere 

Tntenkhamon 

Eye 3 years 

Total 227  j-ears 

Nineteenth  Dynasty,  1350-1205,  b.  c. 

Harmhab 34  j-ears 

Rameses  I 2 >-ears 

Seti  1 21  j-ears 


DISEASES  IN  ANCIENT  EGYPT 


391 


Rameses  II 67  years 

Merneptah 10  years 

Amenmeses 

Siptah 6 years 

Seti  II 2 years 

Total 142  years 

Interim-Anarchy  and  reign  of  Sj'rian  usurper  5 years,  1205-1200  B. 


c. 


Twentieth  Dynasty,  1200-1090  B.  c. 


Setnakht 

Rameses  III . . 
Rameses  IV . . 
Rameses  V . . . 
Rameses  VI 
Rameses  VII 
Rameses  VIII 
Rameses  IX.  . 
Rameses  X. . . 
Rameses  XI 
Rameses  XII . 
Total.  . . . 


. 1 

year 

.31 

years 

. 6 

years 

. 4 

years 

.15 

years 

.19 

years 

. 1 

year 

.27 

years 

104 

years 

Twenty-first  Dynasty,  1090-945,  B.  C. 


Nesubenebded 

Hrihor 

Pesibkhenno  1 17  years 

Paynoseum  1 40  years 

Amenemopet 49  years 

Siamon 16  years 

Pesibkhenno  II 12  years 

Total 134  years 

Twenty-second  Dynasty,  945-745  b.  c. 

Sheshonk  1 21  years 

Osorkon  1 36  years 

Takelot  1 23  years 

Osorkon  II 30  years 

Sheshonk  II 

Takelot  II 25  years 

Sheshonk  III 52  years 

Pemou 6 years 

Sheshonk  IV 37  years 

Total 230  years 


Twenty-third  Dynasty,  745-718  B.  c. 

Pedibast 23  years 

Osorkon  III 14  years 

Takelot  III 

Total 37  years 

Twenty-fourth  Dynasty,  718-712  b.  c. 
Bekneranef  (Bocchoris) 6 years 


392 


PALEOPATHOLOGY 


Twenty-fifth  Dynasty,  712-663  b.  c. 

Shabaka 12  years 

Shabataka 12  years 

Taharka .* 26  years 

Total 50  years 

Twenty-sixth  Dynasty,  663-525  b.  c. 

Psamtik  1 54  years 

Necho 16  years 

Psamtik  II , 5 years 

Apries  (Hophra) 19  years 

Ahmose  II 44  years 

Psamtik  III 

Total 138  years 


Conquest  by  the  Persians  (Twenty-seventh  Dynasty,  525  b.  c. 

Alexander  the  Great  seized  Egypt  332  b.  c. 

Egypt  under  Alexander  and  his  successors,  the  Ptolemies,  332-30  B.  c. 

Egypt  became  a Roman  Province  30  b.  c. 

ARTERIOSCLEROSIS  IN  THE  AORTA  OF  THE 
PHARAOH  OF  THE  EXODUS 

As  evidence  of  the  community  of  interest  between  history  and 
medicine  may  be  mentioned  the  studies  of  Shattock  and  Ruffer  on 
the  pathological  anatomy  of  the  aorta  of  King  Merneptah,  the  reputed 
Pharaoh  of  the  Hebrew  Exodus.  The  mummy  was  found  at  Thebes, 
in  the  tomb  of  Amenhotep  II,  who  reigned  in  Egypt  from  1449-1420 
B.  c.,  and  was  unwrapped  by  Dr.  G.  Elliot  Smith,  who  sent  the  aorta 
to  the  Royal  College  of  Physicians  of  London.  The  finding  of  Mernep- 
tah’s  mummy  at  Thebes  of  course  discomfited  the  adherents  of  the 
theory  that  as  the  Pharaoh  of  the  Hebrew  Exodus,  he  must  have  been 
drowned  in  the  Red  Sea. 

Shattock  undertook  a microscopic  study  of  this  aorta  and  dem- 
onstrated before  the  Pathological  Section  of  the  Royal  Society  of 
Medicine  in  London  a section  of  this  aorta. 

“The  sections  showed  the  picture  of  t}T)ical  senile  calcification 
of  the  aorta,  the  bony,  parallel,  elastic  lamellae  being  perfectly  pre- 
served, and  the  interlamellar  material  thickly  strewm  vdth  calcium 
phosphate.” 

That  Merneptah,  who  reigned  in  Eg>T>t  from  1225-1215  b.  c., 
thirteenth  son  and  successor  to  Rameses  II  (1292-1225  b.  c.),  was  a 
man  of  great  age  is  shown  by  his  baldness,  by  the  whiteness  of  the  Kt- 
tle  hair  left,  by  the  complete  ossification  of  the  thjToid  cartilage  and 
of  the  first  rib,  not  its  sheath  alone,  and  by  the  calcareous  patches  in 
the  aorta.  A single  tooth,  the  upper  right  median  incisor,  was  visible. 


DISEASES  IN  ANCIENT  EGYPT 


393 


Uthough  the  body  was  reduced  to  little  more  than  skin  and  bones,  the 
edundancy  of  the  skin  of  the  abdomen,  thighs,  and  cheeks,  indicates 
hat  Merneptah  was  a somewhat  corpulent  old  man.® 

OTHER  ARTERIAL  LESIONS  AMONG  EARLY  EGYPTLA.NS 

These  interesting  observations  upon  the  atheromatous  patches 
n the  aorta  of  the  elderly  Pharaoh  were  followed  by  two  studies  of 
bluffer,  (1911),  on  various  arterial  lesions  found  in  Egyptian  mummies. 
The  earher  and  more  complete  study  deals  with  arteries  taken  from 
nummies  of  the  XVIIIth-XXVIIth  Dynasties  (1580-527  b.  c.),and 
rom  the  time  of  the  Persian  conquest  (525  b.  c.).  Rufier  also  dissected 
nummies  from  later  periods  so  that  his  studies  ranged  over  material 
representing  a period  of  nearly  two  thousand  years. 

The  method  of  securing  the  arteries  was  to  dissect  them  out  of 
Droken  parts  of  bodies,  such  as  incomplete  arms  and  legs,  where  the 
arteries  had  been  missed  in  the  extensive  mutilations  of  embalming. 
Dr.  Elhot  Smith  has  shown  that  at  the  time  of  the  XXIst  Dynasty,  the 
ambalmers  removed  the  whole  of  the  viscera,  the  aorta,  and  most  of 
the  muscles  of  the  body  and  in  this  process  necessarily  destroyed  the 
arteries.  The  artery  which  most  often  escaped  destruction  was  the 
posterior  peroneal. 

Ruffer’s  methods  of  preparing  his  material  for  study  were  very 
■nteresting.  He  first  removed  the  bandages,  the  mud,  sand  and  gummy 
material;  the  limb  or  trunk  was  then  thoroughly  washed  and  deep 
ncisions  were  made  into  the  skin.  The  parts  to  be  examined  were  then 
Dlaced  in  a solution  containing  carbonate  of  soda,  1 per  cent,  and  formol 
3.5  per  cent,  and  soaked  for  two  days,  when  the  skin  usually  could  be 
removed.  The  arteries  were  completely  flattened  out.  If  they  had 
indergone  marked  fibroid  or  calcareous  changes,  the  lumen  often  was 
latent  and  the  vessel  easily  seen.  The  vessels  were  removed  from  the 
surrounding  tissues  and  placed  in  glycerine  to  which  a few  drops  of 
formol  were  added.  For  microscopic  examination  small  pieces  of  a 
calcified  artery  were  placed  in  alcohol  containing  nitric  acid,  and  after 
24  hours  the  piece  washed  in  water,  hardened,  embedded  in  paraffin 
ind  cut  in  the  usual  manner. 

The  description  of  an  aorta  and  several  arteries  may  be  considered 
typical  of  all  the  arteries  he  studied.  An  aorta  from  a mummy  of  the 
XVIIIth-XXth  Dynasties  showed  that  the  arch  had  been  hacked 

® The  unwrapping  of  Pharaoh’s  mummy  is  fully  described  by  Professor  G.  EUiot  Smith: 
‘Annales  du  Service  des  Antiquites  de  I’Egypt,”  1907. 


394 


PALEOPATHOLOGY 


away  by  the  embalmers,  who  had  also  cut  right  through  all  the  coats 
just  above  the  bifurcation  of  the  vessel.  The  thoracic  aorta  from  a 
point  above  the  origin  of  the  left  subclavian  artery  and  the  whole  of  the 
abdominal  aorta  were  intact  and  easily  removed.  The  internal  coat 
v/as  studded  with  smsall  calcareous  patches,  and  the  two  largest,  each 
nearly  the  size  of  a shilling,  were  situated  just  above  the  bifurcation. 

The  left  subclavian  artery  at  a point  just  above  its  origin  is  almost 
blocked  by  a raised,  ragged,  calcareous  excrescence,  as  large  as  a three- 
penny-bit (calcified  atheromatous  ulcer).  Small  atheromatous  patches, 
not  calcified,  are  scattered  through  the  whole  length  of  the  aorta,  and 
these,  ov/ing  to  the  dark  coloration  of  the  tissues,  are  more  easily  felt 
than  seen. 

The  common  carotid  arteries  show  small  patches  of  atheroma  but 
the  most  marked  changes  are  found  in  the  pelvic  arteries  and  in  those  of 
the  lower  limibs. 

The  common  iliac  arteries  are  studded  with  small  patches  of 
atheroma  and  calcareous  degeneration.  The  other  arteries  of  the  pehds 
are  converted  by  calcification  into  rigid  “bony”  tubes,  down  to  their 
minute  ramifications.  So  stiff  and  brittle  are  they  that  it  was  impossible 
to  dissect  them;  out  entire,  and  in  spite  of  every  possible  care  they  were 
invariably  broken.  The  minute  intramuscular  arteries  were  easily  felt 
on  triturating  the  muscles  under  the  fingers. 

The  arteriosclerosis  of  the  ancient  Egyptians  follow-ed  exactly  the 
same  course  as  the  disease  follows  today.  The  small  atheromatous 
patches  and  the  histological  anatomy  of  the  vessels  are  identical  with 
those  of  today.  The  earliest  sign  of  the  disease  now%  as  then,  is  in  or 
close  below  the  fenestrated  membrane.  The  ancient  disease,  as  w^ell  as 
the  modern,  was  characterized  by  a marked  degeneration  of  the  muscu- 
lar coat  and  of  the  endothelium.  The  small  atheromatous  patches 
subsequently  fuse  and  form  large  patches  of  degenerated  tissue,  which 
may  reach  the  surface  and  open  out  into  the  lumen  of  the  tube. 

The  etiology  of  this  disease  three  thousand  years  ago  is  as  obscure 
as  it  is  in  modern  people.  The  common  causes,  such  as  sj’phihs,  to- 
bacco, alcohol  can  almost  certainly  be  eliminated  from  the  hfe  of  the 
ancient  Egyptians.  The  diet  and  daily  life  of  the  ancient  Eg}'ptian 
people  wms  not  such  as  to  bring  on  this  disease  and  all  that  can  be  said  is 
that  it  was  wide  spread  in  young  and  old,  and  that  three  thousand  years 
ago  the  disease  represented  the  same  anatomical  characters  as  it  does 
today. 


DISEASES  IN  ANCIENT  EGYPT 


395 


HISTOLOGICAL  STUDIES  ON  EGYPTIAN  MUMMIES 

' Ruffer’s  studies  on  the  histology  of  Egyptian  mummies,  written  at 
llamleh  in  1910  and  pubhshed  the  following  year  (1911),  form  one  of 
he  most  important  contributions  to  the  paleopathology  of  Egypt, 
(puffer  introduced  his  study  with  an  interesting  discussion  of  the  histo- 
fjgical  methods  (Plate  LXXVI)  he  had  designed,  especially  adaptable 
b the  unpromising  material,  a discussion  of  embalming  procedures,  and 
femarks  on  ancient  evidences  of  the  history  of  disease  in  Egypt  as 
kdicated  in  the  papyri.  The  “papyrus  Ebers”  contains  information 
tegarding  intestinal  worms,  and  other  papyri  relate  to  medicine  but  the 
vidence  is  uncertain.  The  works  of  art,  pictures,  statues,  represent 
nalformed  persons,  suggesting  disease,  and  Egyptian  temples  and 
ombs  contain  likenesses  of  persons  afflicted  with  club  foot,  rickets  and 
teatopygia. 

The  first  indications  that  a study  of  mummies  might  yield  some 
Evidences  of  the  antiquity  of  disease  was  the  discovery  by  G.  Elliot 
smith  of  an  ancient  gall  bladder  with  biliary  calculi.  Ruffer  then  pro- 
ceeded to  a careful  examination,  histologically,  of  as  many  mummies 
,s  could  be  placed  at  his  disposal.  He  studied  the  skin  from  mummids 
Plate  LXXVI)  8000-12000  years  old,  from  the  XVII-XXth  Dynasties 
Ind  from  Greek  and  Roman  bodies;  muscles  from  the  XXIst  Dynasty 
!.nd  from  Greek  and  Roman;  nerves  from  mummies  of  the  XXIst, 
CVIII-XXth  Dynasties;  blood  vessels  from  the  XXIst  Dynasty;  heart 
rom  the  XXIst  Dynasty;  the  liver  of  Greek  and  Roman  times;  kid- 
leys  of  the  XVIII-XXth  Dynasties;  lungs  from  the  XXIst  Dynasty; 
[atestines,  stomach,  mammary  glands,  and  testicles  from  predynastic 
jimes  and  from  the  XXIst  Dynasty.  The  tissues  were  well  preserved, 
jhe  nuclei  clear,  since  the  material  had  nearly  all  been  fixed  by  salt 
jolutions  used  in  the  embalming  processes. 

The  microscopical  examination  of  tissues  from  ancient  mummies 
aay  reveal  pathological  changes  due  to  infiltration  of  tissue  by  new 
jowth,  infective  granulomata,  animal  and  vegetable  parasites,  in- 
lammation,  proliferation  of  connective  tissue  (cirrhosis),  atheroma  and 
alcificafion,  but  there  is  little  hope  of  recognizing  disease  in  which  the 
Lief  lesions  are  seen  in  the  cells  of  organs  and  tissues.  The  methods 
;f  procedure  and  other  details  of  technique  are  outlined  in  the  pre- 
eding  section  on  arterial  lesions. 

AN  ERUPTION  RESEMBLING  SMALLPOX 
In  view  of  Hirsch’s  suggestion  that  the  Egyptian  regions  are  prob- 
bly  one  of  the  endemic  foci  of  infection  of  smallpox  Marc  Armand 


396 


PALEOPATHOLOGY 


Ruffer’s  (1911.2)  discovery  of  a case  of  variola,  or  something  very  like 
smallpox,  in  a mummy  of  the  XXth  Dynasty  (1200-1090  b.  c.)  is  of 
extreme  interest.  The  body  from  which  the  skin  was  taken  (Plate 
LXXVII)  was  that  of  a tall  man  of  middle  age.  This  body  was  the 
seat  of  a peculiar  vesicular  or  bulbous  eruption,  which  in  form  and  gen- 
eral distribution  bore  a striking  resemblance  to  smallpox.  The  piece 
described  and  figured  by  Ruffer  was  taken  from  the  adductor  surface 
of  the  right  thigh.  The  eruption  as  sho’^m  in  figure  c,  Plate  LXXVII, 
was  a closely  set  vesicular  one. 

Microscopic  examination  of  the  tissue  shows  the  wav}"  fibrillae 
and  bundles,  but  no  nuclear  staining  is  discernible.  Bacteria  are 
present  in  great  numbers.  They  seem  to  be  the  organisms  which  pro- 
duced the  infection,  but  the  number  of  bacteria  was  doubtless  greatly 
magnified  after  death. 

It  would  not  be  at  all  surprising  to  find  smallpox  in  Eg}-pt  at  this 
time  since  it  has  been  described  as  occurring  in  India  and  in  China  as 
far  back  as  2000  b.  c.  Although  prior  to  Ruffer’s  paper  there  was  no 
definite  information  on  the  existence,  in  early  centuries,  of  this  disease 
on  the  African  continent. 


VESICAL  CALCULUS 

It  is  very  remarkable  that  among  the  many  thousands  of  mum- 
mified remains  which  have  been  examined  from  Egj^ptian  graves  that 
so  few  have  shown  evidences  of  vesical  calculi.  The  examination  of 
these  bodies  was  so  careful  that  it  is  not  probable  that  any  examples 
were  overlooked.  G.  Elliot  Smith®  remarks  concerning  the  scarcity 
of  such  evidences: 

The  first  ancient  Egyptian  body  that  I ever  saw  in  situ — at  Mr.  Maciver’s 
excavations  at  El  Amrah  in  1901 — was  a prehistoric  youth  with  a vesical  calculus. 
Although  I have  been  constantly  on  the  look-out  for  other  examples  since  then,  I 
have  never  seen  another  case,  although  close  upon  ten  thousand  bodies  must  have 
been  examined  either  by  Dr.  Wood  Jones  or  myself  in  Nubia  and  Eg}*pt.  I have 
seen  two  cases  of  renal  calculi,  both  in  Ancient  Empire  graves  in  Eg>"pt  and  one 
case  of  gall-stones  (in  a mummy  of  the  New  Empire). 

From  its  very  rarity  one  is  forced  to  conclude  that,  as  compared  with 
their  present-day  frequency  in  civilized  races,  calculi  were  practically 
absent  among  the  ancient  Egyptians. 

EARLY  EVIDENCES  OP  SCHISTOSOMIASIS 
One  of  the  most  interesting  discoveries  made  by  Ruffer  (1910.3) 
® Footnote,  p.  56,  Bulletin  of  the  Archeological  Survey  of  Nubia,  No.  2,  1908. 


DISEASES  IN  ANCIENT  EGYPT 


397 


ivas  .the  recognition  of  the  calcified  eggs  of  Bilharizia  {Schistosoma) 
haematobia  in  the  kidneys  of  two  mummies  of  the  Twentieth  Dynasty 
1^1200-1090  B.  c.).  At  the  present  time  there  is  perhaps  no  disease 
uore  important  to  Egyptians  than  that  caused  by  the  schistosomids. 
So  far  there  is  little  evidence  to  show  how  long  it  has  existed  in  the 
country,  although  medical  papyri  contain  prescriptions  against  hae- 
maturia.  The  lesions  are  usually  seen  in  the  bladder  and  rectum,  but 
these  two  organs  are  seldom  preserved  in  the  mummies.  In  the 
kidneys  of  two,  out  of  six  examined,  Ruffer  was  able  to  demonstrate 
microscopically  a large  number  of  calcified  eggs  of  Bilharzia  haematobia,’’ 
situated,  for  the  most  part,  amongst  the  straight  tubules.  Although 
calcified  the  eggs  are  readily  recognizable  and  cannot  be  mistaken  for 
anything  else,  proving  that  renal  diseases  were  not  infrequent  among 
Egyptians  3000  years  ago. 

Malaria  is  suggested  by  the  discovery  of  hypertrophied  spleens  in 
'ancient  Egyptians. 

RICKETS  IN  ANCIENT  EGYPT 

Definite  evidences  of  the  occurrence  of  rickets  have  not  yet  been 
found  in  the  human  bodies  examined  from  the  ancient  graves  of  Egypt,® 
although  Poncet  in  the  memoir  by  Lortet  and  Gaillard  (1903-1909) 
on  the  mummied  fauna  of  ancient  Egypt  has  described  rickets  in  the 
skeleton  of  an  ape.  Wood  Jones  remarks  in  this  connection: 

Some  diseases — notably  rickets  and  syphilis — if  at  all  common,  must  inevitably 
have  left  traces  of  their  presence  on  the  bony  structure  of  the  body,  and  that  such 
traces  have  not  been  found  in  the  large  series  of  bodies  examined  at  Biga  and  Hesa 
temeteries,  and  by  Dr.  Elliot  Smith  in  other  cemeteries  in  Egypt,  is  strong  pre- 
sumptive evidence  that  the  diseases  did  not  occur.  The  infant  mortality  was 
ipparently  a high  one,  and  great  numbers  of  young  people,  of  all  ages  up  to  puberty, 
are  found  in  all  the  cemeteries,  and  yet  not  one  of  the  cardinal  signs  of  the  bony 
manifestations  of  rickets  has  been  seen  in  any  case. 

The  occurrence  of  this  disease  among  modern  apes  has  been  discussed 
by  Bland-Sutton®  and  by  Frassetto.^®  Poncet’s  observations  on  ra- 
chitis (Plate  LXXXVII)  in  the  mummified  apes  of  ancient  Egypt  is 
thus  an  addition  to  our  previous  knowledge.  The  evidence  is  to  be 

’ F.  G.  Cowston:  Etiology  of  Bilharziosis  in  ancient  Times.  Bilharziosis  in  Natal. 
Parasitology,  11,  No.  1,  83-93,  1918. 

® F.  Wood  Jones — 1908 — Pathological  Report.  Bulletin  of  the  Archeological  Survey  of 
Nuhia,  No.  2,  p.  57. 

; ® (a)  Rickets  in  a Baboon.  Trans,  path.  Soc.  London,  xliv,  310,  1883. 

(b)  Rickets  in  a Baboon  (Cynocephalus  porcarius).  West  Africa.  Ibid.,  p.  312, 1883. 

Su  alcuni  casi  di  Rachitismo  nei  Primati.  Ztschr.  f.  Morphologic  u.  Anthropologic, 
[V,  365-379,  8 figs.,  1902. 


398 


PALEOPATHOLOGY 


found  in  a set  of  limb  bones  markedly  curved  which  indicate  to  this 
student  the  occurrence  of  rickets.  His  figures  are  copied  herewith. 

Among  fossil  animals  older  than  the  ancient  fauna  of  Egypt  the 
disease  has  been  suggested  by  P.  C.  Schmerling^^  in  the  limb  bones  of  a 
Pleistocene  bear  from  the  caves  of  Belgium,  but  his  evidence  is  not 
conclusive. 

Among  living  animals  Frassetto^®  has  cited  the  literature  in  which 
the  occurrence  of  the  disease  has  been  noted  in  the  pig,  horse,  dog,  cat, 
cow,  sheep  and  goat,  domestic  birds,  the  turtle  and  the  primates  cited 
above.  Rickets  thus  seems  to  have  a fairly  wide  occurrence  among 
recent  vertebrates. 

APPENDICITIS 

Appendicitis  has  been  recorded  from  the  early  graves  of  Eg>^t  by 
Dr.  G.  Elliot  Smith^^  who  has  seen  evidences  of  adhesions  representing 
a long  standing  or  chronic  condition.  These  adhesions  were  seen  in  the 
pelvis  of  an  adult  woman  found  in  the  cemetery  at  Hesa.  The  pres- 
ervation of  the  internal  organs  of  the  bodies  found  in  the  cemeteries 
at  Biga  and  Hesa  was  often  remarkable  and  allowed  some  degree  of 
accuracy  in  the  interpretation  of  the  findings.  The  preservation  of 
the  intestinal  canal  was  especially  striking.  Fragments  of  the  undi- 
gested portions  of  bulky  food  were  commonly  found,  and  the  items 
most  readily  identified  were  melon  seeds,  grape  pips,  and  the  husks  of 
barley.^* 

SYMMETRIC  OSTEOPOROSIS  OF  THE  SKULL 

A nutritional  disturbance  accompanied  by  inflammation  of  the 
dura  mater,  evidently  having  its  inception  in  infancy  or  early  child- 
hood, was  doubtless  the  cause  of  the  development  of  patches  of  porous 
bone  seen  in  the  skulls  of  certain  ancient  Egjptians.  Thus,  Adachi” 
has  described  and  figured  a skull  of  a young  Eg>-ptian  from  the  ancient 
cemetery  of  Siut  which  exhibits  (Fig.  h,  Plate  LXXX)  on  the  posterior 
half  of  each  parietal,  removed  from  both  the  sagittal  and  lambdoid 
sutures  by  about  2 cm.,  an  elongated,  oval  area  of  rounded  openings 
of  various  dimensions  wliich  find  their  way  into  the  diploe  but  seldom 
into  the  cranial  cavity;  there  being  two  conditions  Crfira  cranii  externa 
and  interna,  the  latter  being  more  frequent. 

“ Recherches  sur  les  ossemens  fossiles.  Chaiptre  XI,  Des  ossemens  fossiles  i I’etat 
pathologique.  Liege,  1883. 

Bulletin  of  the  Archeological  Sur\'ey  of  Nubia,  No.  2,  p.  55,  1908. 

See  Ruffer — Food  in  Egypt. 

Adachi,  Buntaro — 1904,  Die  Porositat  des  Schadeldaches.  Ztschr.  f.  Morphol.  u. 
Anthropol.,  VII,  373-378,  2 pis. 


DISEASES  IN  ANCIENT  EGYPT 


399 


A similar  condition  is  described  by  Adachi  in  a recent  Dyak  skull 

middle  age,  in  which  the  porosities  are  larger  and  more  developed 
3n  the  left  side.  Another  example  of  this  condition  is  described  by 
Hrdlicka  (1914)  from  ancient  Peru,  which  is  more  fully  discussed  in 
Chapter  XV. 

This  curious  fenestrated  appearanc*e  (Plate  LXXX)  is  generally 
known  as  Cribra  cranii^^  and  is  usually  associated  with  the  Cribra 
orbitalia,^^  discussed  below.  Hrdlicka  (1914)  and  Koganeh®  suggested 
a pathological  significance  for  these  appearances;  Adachi  having  been 
uncertain  as  to  its  cause,  though  suggesting  pressure  atrophy  in  arti- 
ficially deformed  skulls  as  a possible  cause.  Hansemann’s  report  of 
the  occurrence  of  osteoporosis  in  modern  apes  would,  however,  negate 
this  idea. 

Cribra  orbitalia^’^  is  a similar  condition  of  the  roof  of  the  orbit,  and 
as  in  Cribra  cranii  the  porosities  seldom  penetrate  the  neural  cavity 
but  do  communicate  with  the  paranasal  sinuses.  Rudolf  Martin,^® 
following  Koganei,  has  tabulated  its  occurrence  among  primitive  peoples 
as  follows:  Socotrans  (Arabian  descent  on  island  of  Socotra  near 
Arabian  coast)  47.6%,  Negroes  of  the  East  Sudan  35%,  Malays  22.5%, 
Ainos  16.8%,  Chinese  13.4%,  Mongolians  8%,  Japanese  11%,  in  chil- 
dren 27%,  in  ancient  Peruvians  8.9%,  in  ancient  Egyptians  7.1%  and 
in  various  European  races  3.1-4. 7%.  Hrdlicka  {1914,  p.  59,  footnote) 
records  the  recovery  of  the  two  infant  skulls  with  a coral-like  osteo- 
porotic development  in  the  roof  of  each  orbit  from  a Xllth  dynasty 
cemetery  in  Egypt  and  Welcker  has  reported  other  examples.  The 
osteoporosis  (Plate  LXXX)  appears  to  be  absent  in  Eskimo  skulls 
and  in  most  white  races.  Carl  Toldt  found  only  11  examples  in  an 
examination  of  10,000  European  skulls,  although  Ahrens  elsewhere 
reported  17%  occurrence  among  470  German  skulls  examined.  Oet- 
teking^®  found  13  cases  of  Cribra  orbitaha  in  an  examination  of  182 
;ancient  Egyptian  skulls  as  contrasted  with  11%  in  skulls  of  recent 
Egyptians. 

These  interesting  pathological  conditions,  known  as  Cribra  cranii 
(parietalia) , and  Cribra  orbitalia  (Figure  39)  are  not  to  be  confused 

Martin,  Rudolf — 1914,  Lehrbuch  der  Anthropologie,  p.  620. 

Koganei,  Y.,  1911 — Cribra  cranii  und  Cribra  orbitalia.  Mitt.  med.  Fak.  Univ.  Tokyo, 
X,  113. 

Welcker,  Hermann,  1888,  Cribra  orbitalia.  Archiv  f.  Anthropologie,  XVII,  1-18 

Faf.  1. 

Kraniologische  Studien  an  Altaegyptern.  Archiv  f.  Anthropol.,  xxxvi,  1909. 


400 


PALEOPATHOLOGY 


with  the  activities  of  beetles^®  which  do  produce  porosities  in  ancient 
skulls,  but  of  such  a different  character  that  they  are  not  at  all  similar. 
In  view  of  the  widespread  nature  of  this  pathological  condition  it 
may  be  well  here  to  give  Koganei’s  conclusions  from  the  memoir 
cited  above,  as  this  is  the  most  complete  study  of  the  porosities  which 
has  yet  appeared: 

1 . Cribra  cranii  and  cribra  orbitalia  are  to  be  regarded  as  analogous  structures. 

2.  In  a series  of  numerous  examples  of  Cribra  one  is  able  to  distinguish  three 
grades;  a weak  development  which  takes  the  form  of  a plexus  of  grooves,  a median 
form  as  the  plate-like  or  sieve-like  form  and  a stronger  form  in  which  the  plates 
are  united. 

3.  The  most  favorable  situation  for  the  development  of  Cribra  cranii  is  the 
frontal  bone;  then  the  parietals  and  occipitals. 

4.  The  Cribra  cranii  and  the  Cribra  orbitalia  have  the  closest  relationship  to 
vascular  furrows;  these  are  especially  abundant  in  the  porous  field. 

5.  Both  kinds  of  Cribra  are  structures  which  arise  by  the  formation  of  new 
bone  substance  and  are  to  be  regarded  as  osteophytes,  related  to  puerperal  osteo- 
phytes. 

6.  The  Cribra  cranii  and  Cribra  orbitalia  are  almost  equal  in  their  occurrence, 
both  more  frequent  in  children  than  in  adults. 

7.  In  rare  cases  one  finds  the  Cribra  cranii  only  on  the  outer  surface  of  the 
skull. 

PROLAPSUS  VISCERUM 

The  condition  of  the  internal  organs  in  many  of  the  bodies  from  the 
cemeteries  at  Biga  and  Hesa  was  often  surprisingly  good,  permitting  an 
adequate  determination  of  many  \dsceral  conditions.  The  condition 
of  the  rectum  and  of  the  vagina  found  in  these  bodies  is  often  such  that 
the  appearance  may  be  attributed  to  disease.®®  With  the  shrinking  of 
the  tissues  of  the  pelvis  towards  their  rigid  bony  supports,  the  hollow 
viscera  are  dragged  upon  and  by  a pulling  outwards  of  their  walls  the 
cavities  of  the  rectum  and  vagina  are  left  widely  patent.  During  this 
process — and  before  the  final  drying  of  the  parts — it  is  not  uncommon 
for  the  mucous  membrane  of  either  or  both  of  these  cavities  to  become 
everted,  and  to  protrude  for  some  distance  outside,  and  in  the  final  re- 
sult to  simulate  very  closely  indeed  a condition  of  ante-mortem  pro- 
lapse. 

These  cases  are  very  common  in  the  early  Egj-ptian  bodies  and  they 
must  not  be  confused  with  real  prolapse  of  which  only  one  remarkable 
example  (Plate  LXXVIII)  was  found.  The  condition  presented  was  one 

F.  Wood  Jones,  1908 — Pathological  Report,  Bulletin  of  the  Archeological  Survey  of 
Nubia,  No.  2,  p.  58. 

F.  Wood  Jones,  1908 — Pathological  Report,  Bulletin  of  the  Archeological  Survey  of 
Nubia,  No.  2,  p.  56. 


DISEASES  IN  ANCIENT  EGYPT 


401 


that  must  have  had  its  origin  before  death,  for  the  greater  part  of  the 
intestine  was  found  extruded  from  the  anus.  The  prolapse  formed  a 
heart-shaped  mass  that  lay  pressed  against  the  thighs  and  extended 
from  the  gluteal  folds  almost  to  the  knees;  it  was  found  quite  unin- 
.Jured  when  the  body  was  unwrapped.  The  subject  of  this  prolapse 
was  a young  girl.  One  other  case  in  which  protrusion  of  the  viscera 
had  probably  taken  place  during  life  was  in  a woman  found  in  the 
cemetery  on  Biga,  in  which  a stalked  body  resembling  a polypus  had 
prolapsed  per  vaginam,  and  had  carried  in  its  train  a portion  of  the 
mucous  membrane  of  the  vaginal  wall.  Similar  cases  have  been  met 
with  in  older  cemeteries  containing  prehistoric  bodies  (Plate  LXXVIII). 

HYDROCEPHALUS  IN  EARLY  EGYPT 

The  case  of  Hydrocephalus  in  an  Egyptian  of  the  Roman  Period  de- 
scribed by  Douglas  E.  Derry  (1913)  is  one  of  the  oldest  examples  of  this 
deformity.  The  skull,  nearly  complete,  the  pelvis  and  certain  limb 
bones  are  carefully  described  and  should  be  noted  in  connection  with 
the  diseases  of  the  ancient  Egyptians.  The  skeletal  parts  described 
belong  to  a man  of  about  thirty  years  of  age.  The  teeth  were  con- 
siderably worn,  and  the  individual  may  have  been  older  than  above 
indicated.  The  stature  w'as  estimated  to  be  1.506  M.  in  height.  The 
individual  was  the  victim  of  some  disease  of  the  brain,  probably  hydro- 
cephalus, which  not  only  caused  the  excessive  growth  of  the  skull  but 
is  remarkable  for  the  partial  paralysis  of  the  left  side,  w^hich  has  left  a 
mark  in  a very  definite  manner  upon  the  skeleton  of  the  parts  con- 
cerned. 

The  figures  of  the  skull,  in  the  five  normae,  indicated  the  deformity 
of  the  skull.  The  mandible  was  a large,  w^ell-developed  bone  with  a 
prominent  chin  and  a broad,  rather  low  ramus,  the  angle  of  which  is 
somewhat  everted. 

The  cerebral  disease  from,  which  this  man  suffered  was  responsible 
for  a condition  of  hemiplegia  affecting  the  left  side  of  the  body,  and  all 
of  the  bones  of  that  side  of  the  body  illustrate  the  changes  which  such 
a loss  of  power  entails.  The  left  humerus,  apparently  normal,  shows 
extensive  differences  from  the  right  humerus.  There  is  little  change 
exhibited  in  the  ulna.  The  pelvis  is  small  and  deformed,  the  left  side 
having  suffered  from  the  general  left-sided  lack  of  development. 
The  index  of  the  pelvic  brim,  which  is  only  68.2  shows  it  to  be  markedly 
platypelhc,  the  transverse  diameter  measuring  110  mm.  and  the  an- 
teroposterior 75  mm.  The  sacrum  shows  its  irregularity  most  at  the 


402 


PALEOPATHOLOGY 


base,  in  a general  tilting  of  the  body  of  the  first  sacral  vertebra,  ac- 
companied by  lessened  development  of  the  left  side. 

The  femora  and  tibiae  exhibit  similar  differences  to  those  shown  by 
the  arm  bones,  accom.panied  by  a slight  development  of  the  acetabu- 
lum. The  dropping  of  the  left  side  of  the  pelvis  almost  certainly  neces- 
sitated a flexion  of  the  right  knee,  and  the  left  limb  was  dragged  along 
as  in  modern  cases  of  hemiplegia. 

A PSOAS  ABSCESS — TUBERCULOSIS — POTX’s  DISEASE 

The  mummy  (Plate  LXXIV)  exhibiting  the  psoas  abscess,  associ- 
ated with  Pott’s  disease,  or  tuberculosis  of  the  vertebral  column,  was  a 
priest  of  Ammon  of  the  21st  Dynasty  (1100  b.  c.),  found  in  1891  by 
M.  Grebaut  in  the  region  of  the  great  Theban  city.  In  1904  the  body, 
with  others,  w^as  transferred  by  order  of  director  Maspero  to  the  Medical 
School  at  Cairo,  where  it  attracted  the  attention  of  Ruffer  (1910.1) 
and  Smith,  who  have  carefully  described  it,  arriving  at  the  conclusion 
that  it  is  a definite  example  of  tuberculosis  (Figure  40)  the  first  one 
met  with  in  ancient  Egypt.  The  body  was  that  of  a young,  adult 
man  showing  in  the  lumbar  region  a very  unusual  disturbance.  The 
lower  thoracic  and  upper  lumbar  vertebrae  are  kinked  and  necrosed, 
and  on  the  right  side  there  is  a large  swelling  in  the  psoas  muscle 
extending  into  the  iliac  fossa  (Plate  LXXIV). 

Microscopic  examination  of  the  left  psoas  shows  the  presence  of 
unmodified  muscle  fibers,  while  on  the  right  side  there  are  indica- 
tions of  great  disturbance,  with  numerous  calcified  leucocytes,  embed- 
ded with  the  muscle  fibers,  together  wdth  a lot  of  trash  introduced  into 
the  body  in  the  embalming  process.  The  right  psoas  muscle  must  have 
been  in  semifluid  state,  as  is  shown  by  the  embedding  of  a large 
amount  of  material  into  the  fibers  of  the  muscle,  indicating  a psoas 
abscess  on  the  point  of  rupture  (Plate  LXXIV). 

Tuberculosis  has  been  suggested  as  the  cause  of  ancient  lesions 
in  Egyptian  human  and  animal  mummies  by  Poncet,  Fouquet, 
DeMorgan  and  others  but  Ruffer  and  Smith  are  of  the  opinion  that 
no  true  case  has  been  established  by  them,  the  majority  of  their  lesions 
being  clearly  those  of  spondylitis  deformans. 

A PELVIC  OSTEOSARCOMA 

The  bone  in  which  the  tumor  was  found  comes  from  the  catacombs 
of  Kom  el  Shougafa,  in  Alexandria,  and  dates  most  probably  from  the 
middle  of  the  third  century  after  Christ.  Owing  to  the  fact  that  the 


DISEASES  IN  ANCIENT  EGYPT 


403 


:ombs  had  been  previously  rifled  and  the  skeletons  in  a great  disarray 
ao  other  bones  of  the  skeleton  could  be  identified. 

The  tumor  occupies  the  right  pelvic  bone,  affecting  particularly  the 
ischium  (Plate  LXXIX)  and  lower  part  of  the  ilium,  the  pubis  ap- 
parently normal.  The  ilium  is  greatly  thickened  throughout  and  the 
body  of  the  ischium  enormously  dilated,  the  enlargement  encroaching 
upon  the  obturator  foramen.  The  tumor  started,  doubtless,  in  the  can- 
cellous tissue  of  the  pelvis  and  its  growth  has  caused  a very  marked 
expansion  of  the  bone,  deformation  of  the  obturator  foramen  and  en- 
croaching upon  the  acetablum.  There  are  numerous  grooves  on  the 
surface  suggesting  that  the  tumor  was  highly  vascular.  The  exact 
nature  of  the  lesion  must  remain  uncertain  but  owing  to  the  fact  that 
the  swelling  is  deeply  seated,  partly  solid  and  partly  cystic,  and  had 
evidently  been  growing  fast,  RufTer  is  of  the  opinion  that  this 
tumor  was  probably  an  osteosarcoma,  of  which  the  bony  substance  has 
resisted  the  effects  of  time,  while  its  soft  parts  have  disappeared.  This 
is  the  only  known  ancient  example  of  an  osteosarcoma,  unless  some  of  the 
tumors  seen  in  the  ancient  dinosaurs  are  of  that  nature. 

OSSEOUS  LESIONS  IN  EARLY  EGYPTIANS 

There  is  a great  wealth  of  material  on  the  osseous  pathology  of  the 
ancient  Egyptians  to  be  gained  from  the  memoirs  of  Ruffer  and  Rietti, 
Derry,  Smith,  and  Jones,  and  other  minor  sources  of  information.  A 
great  store  of  specimens  was  secured  in  1907  and  later  years  when  the 
Egyptian  Government  decided  to  make  an  archeological  survey  of  that 
part  of  Nubia  which  would  be  flooded  more  or  less  permanently  when 
the  Assuan  dam  was  raised. The  students  of  medical  history  were 
extremely  fortunate  in  this  survey  since  there  has  been  a continuous 
exportation  of  Egyptian  mummies  since  the  beginning  of  the  middle 
ages,  more  than  one  thousand  years,  material  which  was  thus  largely 
lost  for  examination.  Many  of  the  lesions  described  by  Ruffer  have 
been  placed  in  the  Museum  of  the  Medical  School  at  Cairo. 

Spondylitis  deformans  was  extremely  common  among  the  early  Egyp- 
tians, often  of  a very  severe  nature,  since  one  vertebral  column,  de- 
scribed by  Ruffer  and  Rietti,  belonging  to  a man  whose  name  was 
Nefermaat,  belonging  to  the  Illrd  Dynasty  (2980-2900  b.  c.),  from  the 


The  results  of  these  explorations  were  published  in  the  “Bulletins  of  the  Archeological 
Survey  of  Nubia”  and  in  a “Report  of  the  Archeological  Survey  of  Nubia”  in  folio,  from 
which  a great  deal  of  information  on  the  diseases  and  injuries  of  the  early  races  of  Egypt  has 
been  obtained. 


404 


PALEOPA  T HO  LOGY 


fourth  cervical  vertebra  to  the  coccyx,  and  possibly  through  its  whole 
length,  had  been  converted  by  disease  into  one  rigid  block,  by  the 
formation  of  new  bone  in  the  anterior  spinous  ligament  (Ligamentum 
longitudinalis  anterius).  Distinct  bulging  of  this  osseous  bridge  op- 
posite each  space  for  intervertebral  disc  allows  an  examination  of  the 
articular  surfaces  of  the  vertebrae  which  are  perfectly  smooth.  The 
Ligamentum  longitudinale  posterius  was  likewise  completely  ossified 
although  there  was  no  narrowing  of  the  spinal  canal. 

A less  severe  case  of  spondylitis  deformans  is  described  in  the  verte- 
bral column  of  a woman  of  the  Xllth  Dynasty  (2000-1788  B.  c.), 
where  the  disease  is  localized  in  the  anterior  portion  of  the  ninth  and 
tenth  thoracic  vertebrae. 

The  disease  seems  to  have  had  a continuous  history  in  ancient  Eg>pt 
from  very  early  times.  Ruffer  and  Rietti  describe  examples  of  this 
condition  in  bodies  from  the  tombs  of  the  soldiers  of  Alexander  the 
Great  and  Ptolemy  I at  Chatby  (about  300  b.  c.).  The  early  stages  of 
the  disease  usually  show  themselves  in  the  dorsal  and  lumbar  regions 
on  the  anterior  borders  of  the  vertebral  bodies  on  either  side  close  to  the 
middle  line.  They  are  characterized  by  the  formation  of  a small  lip 
which  meets  a similar  prolongation  projecting  from  the  adjacent 
vertebra.  Sometimes  the  new  bone  spreads  as  a thick  ridge  all  around 
the  anterior  border  of  the  vertebral  body  and  forms  powerful  masses 
which  may  extend  over  the  sides  and  meeting  with  similar  ridges  forms 
finally  a continuous  mass  of  bone.  The  disease  seldom  extends  to  the 
posterior  spinal  ligament,  and  even  should  the  latter  become  completely 
ossified,  the  new  bone  never  intrudes  on  the  spinal  canal.  The  lesions 
never  extend  into  the  substance  of  the  bone  but  are  entirely  super- 
ficial. 

Smith  and  Jones  during  the  archeological  survey  of  Nubia,  prior 
to  the  erection  of  the  Assuan  dam,  examined  6000  bodies,  dating  from 
the  Predynastic  (10,000-3400  b.  c.)  to  the  Roman  (30  b.  c.)  periods 
and  reported  no  traces  of  syphilis,  rickets  and  only  one  case  of  tuber- 
culosis, that  of  a mummy  of  a Priest  of  Ammon  of  the  XXIst  Dynasty 
(1090-945  B.  c.)  from  Thebes  which  exhibited  an  extreme  form  of 
Pott’s  disease,  associated  with  a large  psoas  abscess.  Prolapse  of  the 
rectum  was  not  uncommon  and  an  exaggerated  anal  prolapse  of  the 
entire  viscera  was  observed  in  the  body  of  a girl  (Plate  LXXVIII)  of  the 
Byzantine  Period,  evident  as  a flattened  mass  of  intestines  pressed 
against  the  thighs.  The  abdominal  cavity  was  completely  empty. 
Another  woman  showed  prolapse  of  the  vaginal  w'all,  as  well  as  a 


DISEASES  IN  ANCIENT  EGYPT 


405 


vaginal  cyst,  28  mm  X 25  mm.  Old  adhesions  due  to  appendicitis  were 
observed  in  the  pelvis  of  a young  woman  of  the  Byzantine  period 
buried  at  Hesa.  True  gout  was  described  and  figured  in  an  elderly 
man.  Osteitis  deformans  was  extensively  observed,  as  well  as  chronic 
rhinitis,  mastoid  abscess  and  periostitis  (Plates  LXXVII,  LXXVIII, 
LXXXIV,  LXXXV). 

A Roman  skeleton  (about  200  A.  D.)  shows  a complete  ossification 
of  the  ligaments  into  a solid  mass  of  bone  and  similar  indications  are 
found  in  a Coptic  body  (about  500  a.  d.)  where  the  vertebrae  showed  a 
small  amount  of  overlapping. 

The  hands  of  one  mummy  of  the  time  of  the  Persian  Occupation 
(about  525  B.  c.)  showed  enlargements  of  the  heads  of  the  first  pha- 
langes which  may  be  regarded  as  Bouchard’s  nodosities,  a malformation 
which  Bouchard  has  shown  to  be  caused  by  chronic  dilatation  of  the 
stomach. 

Fractures,  with  or  without  callus,  are  quite  common  (Plates 
LXXXII,  LXXXIII)  being  described  in  a left  first  rib,  tibia  and 
fibula,  and  a very  badly  healed  leg  bone  fracture.  Smith  and  Jones 
have  described  a humber  of  other  fractures  and  have  figured  them  in 
great  detail. 

They  figure  also  an  interesting  skull  (Plate  LXXVII)  of  an  ancient 
Egyptian  showing  an  erosion  of  the  floor  of  the  brain  case  due  to  a 
carotid  aneurism. 

Caries  and  alveolar  osteitis  are  frequently  met  with  and  Ruffer 
(1920)  has  described  a number  of  these  cases  (Plates  LXXXIV,  LXXXV) 
often  associated  with  necrosis  of  the  surrounding  bone,  as  well  as  by 
rarefying  periodontitis.  He  made  a special  study  of  these  diseases 
(1913.1)  in  the  skeletons  found  at  Merawi  representing  people  of  the 
XXV-XXVIth  Dynasties  (750-500  B.  c.,  and  at  Faras  of  the  Meroitic 
age  (100  B.  C.-300  A.  d.).  His  study  (1913.1)  is  devoted  especially  to  the 
teeth  on  which,  in  adults,  he  found  considerable  wear,  evidences  of  caries 
and  other  disorders.  There  were  lesions  of  the  teeth  (caries,  perio- 
dontal disease,  alveolar  osteitis)  in  all  but  two  of  a series  of  thirty-six 
skulls.  The  lesions  were  present  in  the  following  order  of  frequency: 
1)  Impaction,  2)  Attrition,  3)  Caries,  4)  Abscesses  and  fistulae, 
5)  Periodontitis  and  pyorrhea  alveolaris.  Besides  the  very  bad  denti- 
tion there  were  many  fractures  and  Wormian  bones  were  occasionally 
observed,  two  bones  showed  deformities  due  to  rickets,  and  a series  of 
vertebrae  gathered  from  many  places  showed  a continuous  history  for 
spondyhtis  deformans  from  4000  b.  C.-300  A.  d.  Ruffer  concludes  from 


406 


PALEOPATHOLOGY 


these  studies  that  the  people  usually  did  not  survive  the  age  of  fifty 
and  life  for  most  of  them  must  have  been  pretty  miserable.  There  are 
no  evidences  that  dentistry  was  ever  practised.  Pyorrhea  alveolaris 
especially  seems  to  be  as  old  as  the  human  race  since  Rufier  observed 
evidences  of  it  in  skulls  of  Greek,  Roman,  Peruvians,  Mexicans, 
Merovingians  and  Germans. 

Thoma,  1916,  has  studied  the  e\ddences  of  dental  diseases  in  250 
ancient  Egyptian  skeletons  (2000  b.  c.)  preserved  in  the  Peabody  Mu- 
seum at  Harvard  University.  His  results  agree  with  Ruffer’s,  who 
says: 

The  majority  of  the  lesions  discovered  in  the  skeletons  of  old  Egyptians,  coming 
from  a period  extending  over  more  than  three  thousand  years,  were  typical  of 
chronic  arthritis.  The  spinal  column  was  most  often  the  seat  of  the  disease,  the 
alterations  varying  from  slight  overlipping  to  complete  ankylosis,  sometimes 
accompanied  by  lesions  of  the  sacro-iliac  articulation  and  of  the  long  bones  of  the 
lower,  more  seldom  by  changes  in  the  long  bones  of  the  upper,  e.xtremities. 

The  frequency  with  which  the  bones  of  the  hand  and  foot  are  affected  could 
unfortunately  not  be  estimated,  as,  in  the  majority  of  cases,  it  was  not  possible  to 
say  with  certainty  to  what  skeleton  the  bones  belonged.  Although  the  number 
of  diseased  smaller  bones  were  certainly  small,  yet  it  is  a peculiar  fact  that,  in  al- 
most every  case  where  the  whole  or  the  larger  part  of  the  skeleton  was  found,  the 
phalanges  were  also  altered  by  osteo-arthritis,  though  the  lesions  were  slight  as  a 
rule.  On  the  whole,  it  would  appear  that  the  foot  was  more  often  affected  than  the 
hand. 

Lesions  of  the  carpal  bones  were  never  seen,  and  those  of  the  tarsus  were  rare. 

In  many  cases  the  fasciae,  the  insertions  of  muscles,  or  the  muscles  themselves 
were  certa.inly  invaded  by  the  ossifying  process.  This  is  well  shown  in  a skeleton  of 
the  Illrd  Dynasty,  where  a bony  mass,  which  had  evident^  developed  in  the 
muscles  and  tendons,  occupied  the  vertebral  groove.  Slighter  pathological  changes, 
such  as  small  osteophytes  at  the  insertion  of  muscles  and  fasciae  (e.g.  insertion  of 
the  plantar  fascia,  great  trochanter,  etc.),  though  less  demonstrative,  point  to  the 
same  conclusion.  It  is  certain  also  that  the  lesions  were  present  far  oftener  than 
our  examination  showed,  as  all  the  smaller  osteophytes,  etc.  must  have  been  broken 
off  or  could  not  be  discovered  in  the  sand  of  the  graves. 

The  complete  or  partial  ankylosis  of  the  sacro-iliac  articulations  may  be  as- 
sumed to  have  been  caused  by  the  same  disease  as  the  spond3’Iitis  deformans.  In 
our  opinion  it  is  very  doubtful  whether  lesions  such  as  are  shown  in  some  of  the 
bodies  should  not  be  classed  in  separate  categor}n  In  these  cases  the  pathological 
process  is  conspicuous,  not  so  much  in  the  joint  as  on  the  flat  surface  of  the  bones. 

That  the  old  Egyptians  suffered  from  bacterial  diseases,  identical  with  those 
seen  now,  has  been  shown  by  the  investigations  of  Elliot  Smith,  Ruffer,  and  Fergu- 
son, but  we  do  not  know  what  was  the  incidence  of  such  diseases  in  Eg}'pt.  Until 
that  is  ascertained,  the  etiology  of  the  osteo-arthritic  lesions  of  old  Eg>’ptians 
cannot  be  even  guessed  at. 

Undoubtedly,  however,  the  manner  in  which  the  disease  spreads  along  the 
spine  points  to  its  having  been  due  to  a chronic  infectious  process  occasionally 
giving  rise  to  metastases  in  other  articulations. 

We  could  not  get  any  information  as  to  whether  the  disease  was  more  common 
in  man  than  in  woman. 


DISEASES  IN  ANCIENT  EGYPT 


407 


Certainly  the  malady  was  one  occurring  more  frequently  in  old  than  in  young 
■eople.  The  “determinative”  of  old  age,  for  instance,  in  hieroglyphic  writing  is 
he  picture  of  a man  deformed  from  chronic  arthritis.  That  it  occurred  among 
people  in  early  adult  life  is  shown  by  the  fact  that  typical  lesions  were  discovered 
1 two  young  people  who  had  not  yet  cut  their  wisdom  teeth. 

Elliot  Smith  and  Wood  Jones  have  also  pointed  out  the  frequency 
)f  this  disease  among  ancient  Egyptians  and  have  offered  other  ex- 
)lanations  for  its  cause,  indicating  as  the  more  favorable  one  that  of 
mvironment,  saying  that  “the  disease  is  associated  with  the  country 
)f  the  Nile  Valley,  and  the  mode  of  life  of  its  population,”  an  explana- 
ion  rejected  by  Ruft'er.  The  occurrence  of  the  same  lesions  in  the 
nummified  remains  of  animals  in  the  arid  region  removed  from  the 
'file  valley^^  and  its  common  incidence  among  the  Pleistocene  verte- 
)rates  of  Europe  (Plate  VIII)  do  not  favor  such  an  explanation  as 
idvanced  by  Dr.  Wood  Jones. 

Pott’s  disease  was  discovered  by  Ruft'er  and  Elliot  Smith  in  a 
nummy  of  the  XXIst  Dynasty  (About  1000  b.  c.)  (Plate  LXXIV), 
)erhaps  the  earliest  landmark  in  the  history  of  tuberculosis. 

, As  a result  of  all  the  osseous  lesions  with  which  many  of  the  ancient 
Egyptians  were  afiiicted  there  mmst  have  been  considerable  suffering 
tmd  inefficiency.  Ruffer  describes  one  Coptic  body  (400-500  A.  D.)  of 
in  adult  man,  though  not  old  who  had  extensive  dental  lesions: 

First  right  molar  extremely  carious.  In  connection  with  the  anterior  fang,  an 
bscess  had  formed  which  had  perforated  through  the  palate  into  the  nasal  cavity 
The  track  followed  by  pus  is  evident  and  opening  into  the  nasal  cavity  is  nearly 
'he  size  of  a three  penny-piece.  The  dental  disease  was  of  old  standing.  Sup- 
puration had  extended  backward  along  the  outer  side  of  the  gums  round  the 
econd  and  third  molar  teeth  in  the  upper  maxilla.  . . . Moreover,  the  fangs  of 
'he  teeth  are  exposed  through  their  whole  length  owing  to  the  absorption  of  the 
Iveolar  walls. 

This  man  suffered  also  from  chronic  nasal  disease,  from  arthritis  in  the  glenoid 
ossa,  from  periostitis  of  the  great  trochanter  of  the  femur,  and  chronic  spondylitis, 
lacked  as  he  must  have  been  with  dental  agony,  afflicted  with  a chronic  nasal 
lischarge,  and  stiff  with  pain  in  his  hip  and  spine,  his  life  must  have  been  well- 
igh  unbearable. 

In  support  of  this  Ruffei^ remarks  (Jour.  Path,  and  Bacteriol.,  xviii,  160) : “The  occur- 
jnce  of  spondylitis  deformans  among  ancient  Copts  is  one  more  proof  that  the  disease  has 
xisted  throughout  Egypt  from  the  remotest  times  and  is  independent  of  climate.  It  has 
een  found  by  Dr.  Rietti  and  myself  in  bodies  buried  close  to  the  Mediterranean  shores,  in 
odies  from  Upper  Egypt  and  in  Nubia.  Quite  lately,  I have  found  an  e.xample  of  it  in  a 
keleton  from  the  Meroitic  Kingdom  (300  b.  c.)  and  buried  in  the  Tropics  at  Merawi,  one 
f the  hottest  and  driest  places  in  the  world,  and  others  in  Christian  skeletons  at  Abou 
lenas  and  Abou  Sir  in  the  comparatively  damp  region  of  Mariout.  These  skeletons  date 
'om  about  500  a.  d.” 


408 


PALEOPATHOLOGY 


POLIOMYELITIS 

“And  Johnathan,  Saul’s  son,  had  a son  that  was  lame  of  his  feet 
He  was  five  years  old  when  the  tidings  came  of  Saul  and  Johnathan  out  o; 
Jezreel,  and  his  nurse  took  him  up,  and  fled:  and  it  came  to  pass,  a; 
she  made  haste  to  flee,  that  he  fell,  and  became  lame.  And  his  name 
was  Mephibosheth.”  II  Samuel,  IV,  4. 

Osler^^  says:  “Since  the  days  of  Mephibosheth  parents  have  beer 
inclined  to  attribute  this  form  of  paralysis  to  the  carelessness  of  nurses 
in  letting  the  children  fall,  but  very  rarely  is  the  disease  produced  by 
traumatism.  . . .” 

It  is  true  that  J.  K.  MitchelF^  has  given  a description  of  a skeleton 
of  an  Egyptian  mummy  with  changes  which  were  supposed  to  be  due 
to  poliomyelitis.  Others  have  described  similar  deformities  in  sculp- 
tured objects  and  in  paintings;  but  such  deformities,  we  must  ac- 
knowledge, might  be  due  either  to  poliomyelitis  or  to  other  lesions  of 
the  nervous  system  occurring  in  early  hfe.  This  mummy  is  in  the 
Archeological  Museum  of  Pennsylvania  University,  3700  b.  c.,  found  at 
Deshasheh,  80  m.  south  of  Cairo  by  Flinders  Petrie. 

Bones  light  and  fragile  from  age,  small  male,  S ft.,  6 in.,  left  leg 
shorter  than  right,  and  left  femur  lighter  and  smaller  than  right,  no 
sign  of  fracture.  Bones  of  feet  unaffected.  Bones  of  lower  leg  equal. 
Only  one  segment,  the  femoral,  affected. 

Poliomyelitis,  even  intrauterine,  is  suggested  as  cause  of  the  short- 
ened femur. 

Infantile  paralysis^®  is  apparently  represented  in  a stela  of  the 
XVIIIth  Dynasty  (2000  b.  c.)  in  the  Carlsberg  Glyptothek  at  Copen- 
hagen, described  by  Hamburger  (1911).  He  makes  the  diagnosis  of 
infantile  paralysis  on  the  basis  of  the  “position  equine”  of  the  right 
foot,  which  shows  considerable  atrophy  from  the  knee  down  (Plate 
LXXV).  Many  ancient  Egyptian  statuettes  in  bronze  or  varnished 
earth,  representing  the  gods  Bes  and  Phtah,  are  accurate  figurations-® 
of  achondroplasia.^^ 

Ray  and  Buxton  (1914)  in  examining  material  from  a prehistoric 

Wm.  Osier;  Principles  and  Practice  of  Medicine,  N.  Y.,  1901,  942. 

2'*  John  K.  Mitchell:  Study  of  a Mummy  affected  with  anterior  Poliomyelitis.  Trans. 
Assn.  Am.  Physicians,  XV,  1900,  134-136. 

25  John  Ruhrah  and  E.  E.  Mayer:  Poliomyelitis  in  all  its  Aspects,  Phila.,  1917. 

2®  Garrison,  1917,  1,  p.  50. 

Charcot:  Les  difformes  et  les  maladies  dans  Part.  Paris,  1889,  12-26. 

F.  BaUod : Prolegomena  zur  Geschichte  der  zwerghaften  Gotter  in  Aegj-pten.  ^Munich 
dissertation  (Moscow,  1913). 


DISEASES  IN  ANCIENT  EGYPT 


409 


'700  B.  c.)  Ethiopian  cemetery  in  southern  Sudan,  Africa,  found  evi- 
lences  of  caries,  fractures,  abscess  cavities,  a skull  with  a large  osteoma, 
hliary  and  vesical  calculi,  but  no  evidence  of  an  osteo-arthritis. 

TREPHINING  IN  EGYPT 

Very  little  is  known  of  trephining  among  the  ancient  Egyptians, 
md  it  seems  quite  probable  that  it  was  very  little  practiced,  if  at  all. 
buffer  has  described  and  figured  a skull,  found  at  Alexandria  and  dating 
rom  200  A.  d.  which  appears  to  have  been  trepanned.  The  edges  of 
he  opening  have  healed  over  so  that  the  patient  survived  the 
iperation,  but  if  this  is  a trephine  opening,  it  is  a very  poor  one. 

Another  suggestion  of  trephining  in  ancient  Eg>q)t  is  given  by  Pro- 
essor  Derry,  and  concerns  a circular  opening  in  a skull  from  Shurafa, 
iwer  Egypt,  found  in  a cemetery  of  Roman  date,  about  2000  years 
Id.  The  skull  (Plate  LXXXI)  is  in  perfect  condition,  only  a few  teeth 
aving  dropped  out  since  removal  from  the  grave,  and  from  its  general 
haracters  it  is  probably  that  of  a young  woman  of  about  twenty-one 
ears  of  age.  In  the  right  parietal  bone,  close  to  and  involving  the 
igittal  suture,  and  situated  exactly  opposite  the  obelion,  or,  in  other 
ords,  near  the  site  of  the  right  parietal  foramen,  is  a large  hole,  measur- 
■ig  24  mm  in  the  diameter  parallel  to  the  sagittal  suture  and  26  mm.  at 
lie  widest  part  of  the  hole,  at  right  angles  to  the  antero-posterior 
iameter.  The  opening  is  irregularly  circular,  and  is  incomplete  at 
s inner  margin  where  it  breaks  into  the  sagittal  suture.  Its  edges  are 
^rfectly  smooth  and  bevelled  externally,  and  about  8 mm.  from  the 
lening  there  is  a faint  suggestion  of  a bony  elevation  running  concen- 
ically.  Except  for  vascular  pittings  over  the  surface  of  the  skull 
lere  are  no  evidences  of  inflammation. 

The  skull  is  markedly  flattened  (Plate  LXXXI)  from  the  hole  down- 
aids  as  far  as  the  superior  angle  of  the  occipital  bone,  and  laterally 
volving  the  posterior-superior  angles  of  both  parietals,  as  well  as  the 
ea  adjacent  to  those  angles.  The  depression  of  the  bone,  exclusive 

the  hole  itself,  is  greatest  immediately  below  the  opening  and  ex- 
: tly  over  the  posterior  end  of  the  sagittal  suture;  but  below  the  lambda 
e flattening  has  affected  the  right  side  of  the  skull  more  than  the  left, 
ii  that  the  left  side  of  the  occipital  bone  seems  to  bulge  when  compared 
' th  the  corresponding  part  to  the  right.  It  would  appear  from  this 
at  there  is  some  association  between  the  flattening  and  the  perfora- 
' )n  of  the  bone. 

The  character  of  the  opening  is  unlike  the  trephine  openings  in 


410 


PA  LEOPA  THOLOGY 


Neolithic  skulls,  (Plate  LXXII)  such  as  those  described  by  Man- 
ouvrier.  The  theory  of  trephining  does  not  explain  the  flattening  and 
Derry  suggests  that  the  more  probable  cause  of  this  parietal  perfora- 
tion is  a dermoid  cyst  of  the  scalp  of  which  a number  of  examples  are 
known  in  modern  peoples  (Plate  LXXXI). 

LESIONS  IN  THE  MUMMIFIED  ANIMALS  OF  EGYPT 

The  mummified  animal  remains  preserved  in  the  tombs  of  ancient 
Egypt  have  been  carefully  described  by  Lortet^®  and  Gaillard  and  in 
occasional  skeletons  they  found  evidences  of  disease.  In  a number  of 
skeletons  of  baboons,  Cynocephalus  (Papio),  found  in  tombs  in  the 
valley  of  Gabanet  el  Giroud,  the  long  bones  show  irregular  incurva- 
tions (Plate  LXXXVII)  in  the  arc  of  a circle,  the  diaphyses  being 
flattened  into  the  form  of  a scabbard.  The  tibia,  fibula,  humerus, 
radius  all  show  evidences  of  rickets  of  long  standing.  The  curvature 
of  the  long  bones,  their  flattening,  the  swollen  appearance  of  the  epiphy- 
seal ends  all  clearly  indicate  osseous  lesions  which  survived  from  the 
adolescent  period. 

A series  of  ankylosed  lumbar  vertebrae  (Plate  LXXXVII)  Pon- 
cet  refers  to  as  due  to  tubercular  rheumatism,  but  the  lesions  are  those 
of  the  spondylitis  deformans  and  there  is  no  necessary  assumption 
of  tuberculosis.  Ruffer  (1910.3)  and  Smith  take  exception  to  Poncet’s 
diagnosis  and  deny  the  evidence  of  tuberculosis.  The  irregular  sur- 
faces of  the  head  of  the  radius  and  ulna  Poncet  regards  as  indicating  a 
sarcoma  attacking  these  bones.  The  exact  age  of  these  remains  h 
not  determined  but  their  antiquity  is  suggested  by  Lortet’s  words 
“The  studies  of  Professor  Poncet  are  of  very  great  interest  for  they  shoi^ 
the  presence  of  rheumatism,  sarcoma  and  rickets  thousands  of  year; 
ago  in  the  baboons.” 

Louis  Charles  Lortet,  French  naturalist  and  physician,  1836-1909.  Trained  in  medi 
cine  Lortet  is  the  author  of  several  important  memoirs  on  paleontology^  anthropolog)',  medi 
cine  and  allied  sciences.  His  most  extensive  work  was  that  undertaken  in  connection  wit; 
Claude  GaOlard,  curator  of  the  Museum  of  Natural  History-  at  Lyons,  of  which  Lortet  wa 
director,  on  the  enormous  collection  of  relics  of  early-  Egypt  acquired  from  the  tombs  c 
Egypt  while  Maspero  was  so  actively  engaged  in  the  archeological  sur\-ey-  of  that  country 
Their  studies,  issued  in  three  parts  under  the  title  “La  Fauna  momifiee  de  I’ancienne  Egy-pte 
published  in  the  Archives  du  Museum  d’histoire  natureUe  de  Lyon,  viii,  i-viii,  1-206;  is,  i-xh 
1-122 ; X,  1-336.  In  these  extensive  studies  are  carefully-  considered  all  the  objects  of  antiquit 
collected,  chiefly  however,  the  ancient  vertebraes  of  Egypt.  In  their  studies  they-  saw  oca 
sional  evidences  of  disease,  descriptions  of  w-hich,  by-  A.  Poncet,  are  included  in  the  worl 
Lortet  was  dean  of  the  faculty  of  medicine  at  Lyons,  and  a member  of  many  learned  societie 
His  biography,  written  by  Claude  Gaillard  is  to  be  found  in  the  Archives  du  Museum  d’Hi 
toire  naturelle  de  Lyon,  xi,  1-31,  with  portrait. 


DISEASES  IN  ANCIENT  EGYPT 


411 


The  occurrence  of  rickets  in  many  species  of  animals  has  been 
ecorded  by  Frassetto^®  in  Turin  who  has  described  the  effects  of  the 
iisease  in  the  skeletons  of  apes,  and,  in  an  extensive  bibliography  gives 
eferences  to  the  occurrence  of  the  disease  in  the  pig,  horse,  dog,  cat, 
IX,  goat,  birds,  turtles  and  primates,  and  similar  results  are  reported  to 
lave  been  recorded  by  P.  C.  Schmerling  (1883)  in  fossil  mammals 
rom  the  Pleistocene  of  Belgium. 

SYPHILIS  IN  EGYPT 

The  presence  of  syphilis  in  early  Egypt  is  still  unproven,  and  its 
existence  is  denied  by  G.  Elliot  Smith,  E.  Wood  Jones,  Ruffer  and 
)thers.  On  the  other  hand  Fouquet,  Jarricot,  Lortet  and  others  have 
uggested  its  presence  and  it  will  be  important  to  give  their  evidences. 

In  the  large  monograph  on  the  mummified  animals  of  Egypt,  in 
he  section  devoted  to  anthropology  osseous  erosions  in  the  skull  of 
i young  woman  found  at  Roda  suggested  to  Lortet  (Eigure  37)  the 
)ccurrence  of  syphilis,  although  he  recognized  the  possibility  of  the 
esions  being  due  to  chronic  inflammation  of  uncertain  nature,  to  caries 
)r  to  tuberculosis.  He  later  supported  the  idea  of  these  lesions  be- 
ng  syphilitic  in  two  contributions®®  in  which  he  defends  the  idea  very 
.trongly.  Fouquet’s  original  paper  is  given  by  deMorgan®^  pointing  to 
he  prehistoric  existence  of  syphilis,  although  he  has  not  been  supported 
n this  assumption  by  subsequent  workers.  The  lesions  he  figured  on 
he  prehistoric  skull  from  Amra  doubtless  may  have  other  explana- 
ions  (Plate  LXXXVI). 

Jarricot®®  also  has  suggested  the  existence  of  syphilis  from  a study 
if  the  features  depicted  on  a small  sculptured  figure  found  in  Egypt  and 
lating  from  the  Greco-roman  period.  Berkhan®®  regards  the  large  size  of 
he  head  in  certain  Egyptians  as  pathologic. 

F.  Frassetto;  Su  alcuni  casi  di  Rachitismo  nei  Primati.  Ztsckr.  f.  Morphol.  u.  An- 
arop.,  Stuttg.,  iv,  365-378,  i pi. 

* ’“L.  C.  Lortet;  Crane  s)rpliilitique  de  necropoles  prehistoriques  de  la  Haute-Egypte. 

iuU.  Soc.  d’anthrop.  de  Lyon,  xx^’i,  211,  1907. 

Antiquite  du  crane  syphilitique  trouve  dans  la  necropole  prehistorique  de  R6da 
Haute-Egypte),  1-12,  Lyon,  1908. 

^ DeMorgan:  Recherches  sur  les  Origines  de  I’Egj'pte,  364,  fig.  59,  369. 

^^Jean  Jarricot:  Syphilis  et  scaphocepahlie  a propos  d’une  figurine  scaphoide  de  I’an- 
lenne  Egypte.  Bull.  Soc.  d’anthrop.  de  Lyon,  xxvi,  174. 

Oswald  Berkhan:  Uber  Makrokephahe  in  der  Familie  des  Pharao  Amenophis  IV. 
18  Dynastie.)  Archiv  fiir  Anthropologic,  N.  F.  Bd.  XVIII.  155,  6 figs.  1919. 


DISEASES  IN  ANCIENT  EGYPT 


413 


DESCRIPTIONS  OF  FIGURES  36-41  AND  PLATES  LXXIV-LXXXVII 
ILLUSTRATING  CHAPTER  XIII 


414 


PALEOPA  THOLOGY 


Figure  36 

Sir  Marc  Armand  Rufi'er,  1859-1917. 


Figure  36 


DISEASES  IN  ANCIENT  EGYPT 


415 


/ 


^0  . 


FIGURE  37 


t 


■’n}. ' 


416 


PALEOPATHOLOGY 


Figure  37 

Louis  Charles  Lortet.  French  naturalist  and  physician,  1836-1909. 


Figure  37 


DISEASES  IN  ANCIENT  EGYPT 


417 


FIGURE  38 


418 


PALEOPATHOLOGY 


Figure  38 

Map  of  Egypt  showing  location  of  discoveries  (marked  a star  in  a square) 
which  furnished  material  showmg  pathological  lesions.  (Modified  from  Breasted.) 


Figure  38 


DISEASES  IN  ANCIENT  EGYPT 


419 


FIGURE  39 


f-J  . 

^ i.*.. 


420 


PALEOPATHOLOGY 


Figtjee  39 

a.  Section,  somewhat  enlarged,  of  a frontal  bone,  showing  the  h}-perplasia 
accompanying  the  healed  lesions  in  an  osteoporotic  osteophyte  of  the  pathology 
known  as  Cribra  cranii  interna.  The  upper  border  of  the  figure  represents  the  inner 
skull  table.  The  hypertrophy  of  the  diploic  spaces  is  to  be  noted.  The  nature  of 
the  disease  producing  these  pathological  growths  is  unknown,  but  the  lesions  are 
probably  due  to  faulty  nutrition.  The  skull  from  which  this  section  was  taken  was 
derived  from  a female  body  in  a dissecting  room.  History  of  the  body  unknown, 
but  the  growths  are  spoken  of  as  puerperal  osteophytes. 

b.  An  example  of  Cribra  orbitalia  in  the  roof  of  the  left  orbit,  shown  from 
below,  in  a recent  skull.  This  is  the  honey-combed  area  to  the  right  of  the  middle 
of  the  picture.  (Both  figures  after  Koganei.) 


I'lft  ■Ml  II 


DISEASES  IN  ANCIENT  EGYPT 


421 


FIGURES  40-41 


422 


PA  LEOPA  THOLOGY 


Figure  40 

Diagram  showing  three  types  of  abscesses  due  to  vertebral  tuberculosis:  A, 
Intercostal  or  lower  thoracic  abscess  similar  to  the  case  shown  in  the  NeoKthic 
example  (Plate  LXIX,  a,  c and  d.).  B,  Lower  lumbar  abscess  which  passed  out 
into  the  femoral  region  through  the  sciatic  notch.  C,  A psoas  abscess  penetrating 
Scarpa’s  triangle,  like  the  ancient  Eg3’ptian  example  shown  in  Plate  LXXIV. 
(Modified  from  Testut  and  Jacob.) 


Figure  41 

An  ancient,  predynastic,  flint  knife  found  in  Eg\-pt,  which  may  have  ser\-ed 
the  ancient  Egyptians  in  their  embalming  processes.  (After  Lortet  and  Gaillard.) 


Figure  40 


Figure  41 


DISEASES  IN  ANCIENT  EGYPT 


423 


PLATE  LXXIV 


424 


PALEOPA  THOLOGY 


PLATE  LXXIV 

ANCIENT  EGYPTIAN  WITH  POTT’S  DISEASE 

Mummy  of  the  priest  of  Ammon,  from  an  Eg>"ptian  cemetery  of  the  XXIst 
Dynasty,  (1100  b.  c.)  showing  at  the  point  of  the  arrow  a huge  psoas  abscess,  due 
to  tuberculous  infection  in  the  upper  lumbar  region.  (After  Smith  and  Ruffer.) 


Plate  LXXIV 


DISEASES  IN  ANCIENT  EGYPT 


425 


PLATE  LXXV 


426 


PALEOPATHOLOGY 


PLATE  LXXV 

ANCIENT  EGYPTIAN  PATHOLOGY 

a.  A stela  of  the  XVIIIth  Dynasty  (2000  b.  c.)  in  the  Carlsberg  Glyptothek 
at  Copenhagen,  showing  in  the  “talipes  equinus”  of  the  male  figure  evidences  of 
infantile  paralysis.  (After  Hamburger.) 

h.  Radiograph  of  buccal  surface  of  jaw. 

c.  Radiograph  of  lingual  surface  of  jaw. 

d.  Mandible  of  an  ancient  Egyptian  from  an  Old  Empire  (Kingdom)  (2900 
B.  c.)  tomb  excavated  by  G.  A.  Reisner  at  Giza,  of  a middle-aged  male  of  “The 
Giza  type.”  This  jaw  exhibits  two  perforations  to  drain  an  alveolar  abscess  and 
possibly  represents  the  oldest  example  of  oral  surgery.  (After  Hooten.) 


Plate  LXXV 


DISEASES  IN  ANCIENT  EGYPT 


427 


PLATE  LXXVI 


428 


PALEOPATHOLOGY 


PLATE  LXXVI 
MTOtMITIED  ORGANS 

1.  Mummified  liver  folded  upon  itself  and  containing  in  the  cavity  so  formec 
a statuette  of  the  human-headed  Amset.  Nearly  natural  size. 

2.  Posterior  surface  of  a mummified  heart. 

3.  Skin  of  finger.  Sweat  glands  are  evident.  Nuclei  are  also  seen.  Eosin 
(Leitz,  low  power.) 

4.  Nerve  of  finger.  Haematoxylin.  The  medullary  sheath  is  well  shown 
(Leitz,  Oc.  I,  X 1^12.) 

(All  figures  after  Ruffer  in  his  “Histological  Studies  of  Egyptian  Mummies.’l 


DISEASES  IN  ANCIENT  EGYPT 


429 


PLATE  LXXVll 


430 


PALEOPATHOLOGY 


PLATE  LXXVn 

ANCIENT  EGYPTIAN  PATHOLOGY 

a.  d.  e.  Femora  of  soldiers  of  Alexander  the  Great,  showing  lesions  of  Arthritis 
deformans.  (After  Ruffer.) 

b.  Skull  of  ancient  Egyptian,  showing  erosion  due  to  a carotid  aneurism,  at 
the  point  of  the  arrow.  (After  Smith  and  Jones.) 

c.  Portion  of  the  skin  of  a mummy  of  the  Twentieth  Dynasty,  1200*1090 
B.  c.,  with  an  eruption  resembling  that  of  Variola.  (After  Ruffer  and  Ferguson.) 


Plate  LXXVII 


DISEASES  IN  ANCIENT  EGYPT 


431 


PLATE  LXXVIII 


432 


PALEOPATHOLOGY 


PLATE  LXXVra 
ANCIENT  EGYPTIAN  PATHOLOGY 

a.  Portion  of  the  body  of  a girl  from  the  Byzantine  cemeterj’’  showing  anal  or 
vaginal  prolapse  of  the  viscera.  (After  Smith  and  Jones.) 

h.  A series  of  ankylosed  lumbar  vertebrae,  due  to  osteo-arthritis  in  an  Egi'ptian 
mummy.  (After  Smith  and  Jones.) 

c.  A male  mummy  (Coptic,  400-500  A.  d.)  showing  prolapse  of  the  rectum.  A 
Christian  body  from  Antinoe  in  upper  Egypt.  (After  Ruffer.) 

d.  Skull  of  an  Egyptian,  showing  ankylosis  of  atlas  to  skull.  (After  Smith 
and  Jones.) 

e.  Maxillary  bone  of  an  Egyptian  mummy  (Coptic  400-500  A.  d.),  shoiiung  the 
effects  of  caries  and  necrosis  of  the  palatum  durum.  (After  Ruffer.) 

/.  Mandible  of  an  Egyptian  (Coptic,  400-500  a.  d.)  showing  the  results  of 
caries  and  pyorrhea  alveolaris.  (After  Ruffer.) 


Plate  LXXVIII 


DISEASES  IN  ANCIENT  EGYPT 


433 


PLATE  LXXIX 


434 


PALEOPATHOLOGY 


PLATE  LXXIX 
AN  ANCIENT  OSTEOSARCOMA 

An  Osteosarcoma  in  an  Egj^ptian  Pelvis 

a.  Sawn  section  through  the  acetabulum,  indicating  the  amount  of  h\"per- 
trophy  of  the  ischium. 

b.  Median  aspect  of  the  right  pelvis  showing  the  extent  of  the  tumor,  involving 
the  Spina  ischiadica,  the  great  portion  of  the  body  of  the  ischium,  the  acetabulum, 
the  obturator  foramen  and  the  lower  portion  of  the  ilium.  The  pubis  is  apparently 
normal.  The  great  enlargement  seen  below  the  Facies  articularis  of  the  ilium 
indicates  the  position  of  the  osteosarcoma.  The  deep  grooves  on  the  surface  of  the 
ischium  suggest  a highly  vascular  tumor. 


Crista 
^ ( iliaca 


Spina 

ischiadica 


Corpus  ossis 
ischii 


Tuber  ischiadicum 


Plate  LXXIX 


DISEASES  IN  ANCIENT  EGYPT 


435 


PLATE  LXXX 


V. 


vr  , . 


V 


436 


PALEOPATHOLOGY 


PLATE  LXXX 
SYMMETRIC  OSTEOPOROSIS 

a.  Skull  of  a recent  Dyak  of  middle  age  showing  the  healed  lesions  of  sym- 
metric osteoporosis. 

b.  Skull  of  a young  Egyptian  from  the  ancient  cemetery  of  Siut  exhibiting 
healed  lesions  of  symmetric  osteoporosis.  (Both  figures  after  Adachi.) 


Plate  LXXX 


DISEASES  IN  ANCIENT  EGYPT 


437 


PLATE  LXXXI 


ix?- 


'■W' 


438 


PALEOPATHOLOGY 


* 


PLATE  LXXXI 
A DEFORMED  SKULL 

A skull  from  Shurafa,  Lower  Egypt,  found  in  a cemetery  of  Roman  date,  about 
2,000  years  old,  of  a young  woman  about  twenty-one  years  of  age.  A.  Right  latera 
view,  showing  remarkable  parietal  flattening,  the  position  of  the  opening  (at  tht 
arrow),  and  the  perfect  condition  of  the  skull.  B.  Posterior  view,  showing  perfora 
tion  suggested  to  be  due  to  a dermoid  cyst,  and  simulating  a trephine  opening 
(Drawn  from  photographs  by  Derry.) 


Plate  LXXXl 


DISEASES  IN  ANCIENT  EGYPT 


439 


PLATE  LXXXII 


440 


PALEOPATHOLOGY 


PLATE  LXXXn 
PRIMITIVE  SPLINTS 

a.  Photograph  of  the  most  ancient  splints  as  found  in  position  on  the  bones  of  a 
fourteen-year-old  girl  at  Naga-ed-der,  about  100  miles  north  of  Luxor,  Egypt. 

b.  A primitive  set  of  splints  showing  the  use  of  palm  fiber.  The  mass  of  palm 
fiber  adhering  to  the  ulna  was  introduced  to  absorb  the  blood  and  stop  hemorrhage. 
On  the  left  is  a bark  splint  with  blood-stained  fiber  adhering  to  its  linen  wrapping. 
On  the  right  is  one  end  of  a bundle  of  grass  reeds  supporting  front  and  back  by  linen. 

c.  A set  of  ancient  wooden  Eg>'ptian  splints  (5th  dynasty)  shown  in  position’ 
around  a fractured  femur.  (All  figures  after  G.  EUiot  Smith.) 


Plate  LXXXII 


I 


DISEASES  IN  ANCIENT  EGYPT 


441 


PLATE  LXXXIII 


442 


PALEOPATHOLOGY 


PLATE  LXXXm 
PRIMITIVE  SPLINTS 

a.  These  are  the  splints  shown  in  Plate  LXXXII,  a,  removed  from  the  tomb, 
cleaned  and  placed  alongside  the  fractured  femur.  Note  especially  the  pad  of  cloth 
wound  around  the  splint  to  the  left  of  the  fractured  femur.  The  reef  knot  was  used 
in  tying  the  bandage  around  the  rough  wooden  splints.  The  remainder  of  the 
cloth  had  disintegrated. 

b.  The  fractured  femur,  shown  in  “a”  seen  from  behind,  showing  loss  of  sub- 
stance and  nature  of  compound  fracture. 

c.  An  example  of  vicious  union  after  fracture  of  the  forearm  in  an  ancient 
Egyptian.  (All  figures  after  G.  Elliot  Smith.) 


Plate  LXXXIII 


DISEASES  IN  ANCIENT  EGYPT 


443 


PLATE  LXXXIV 


444 


PA  LED  PA  T HO  LOGY 


PLATE  LXXXIV 

ABNORMALITIES  AND  PATHOLOGY  OF  ANCIENT  EGYPTIAN  TEETH 

Fig.  1. — From  Ras  el  Tin,  Roman  Period.  Alveolus  of  a tooth  which  was 
irregularly  placed.  Most  teeth  lost  after  death.  Right  canine  and  anterior  pre-' 
molar  broken  probably  after  death.  Molar  regions  show  signs  of  severe  dental 
and  perialveolar  disease. 

Fig.  2. — Predynastic,  Naga  el  Deir.  Alveoli  of  second  molar  and  posterior  pre- 
molar absorbed.  Crowns  of  canine  and  anterior  premolar  show  great  attrition, 
especially  on  buccal  side,  whereas  in  the  first  molar  the  center  of  the  crown  is  the 
part  worn  down  most  deeply.  Canine  covered  with  tartar  at  the  neck.  Some 
absorption  of  the  alveoli  of  all  the  teeth,  most  marked  round  the  root  of  first  pre- 
molar which  is  bare  for  its  whole  length,  and  the  wall  opposite  the  tip  of  the  root  is 
smooth  and  rounded.  Alveoli  round  roots  of  first  molar  also  partly  absorbed;  that 
of  second  premolar  almost  completely  absorbed,  doubtless  owing  to  long  previous 
suppuration.  Malposition  of  third  molar. 

Fig.  3. — Cleopatra’s  period.  Faulty  implantation  of  third  molar.  Alveolus  of 
second  molar  completely  absorbed. 

Fig.  4. — Pyramid  period  (?).  Some  malposition  of  third  lower  molar;  corre- 
sponding ma.xillary  tooth  is  much  smaller  than  its  neighbor.  Mandibular  molars 
somewhat  bare  and  with  distinct  pitting  of  alveolar  border. 

Fig.  5. — From  Ras  el  Tin,  Roman  period.  Second  lower  molar  shows  small, 
oblong  enamel  nodule.  Some  absorption  of  alveolar  wall  of  same  tooth.  ' 

Fig.  6. — A Gizeh  pyramid-builder.  Abnormal  position  of  teeth  and  alveolar, 
absorption.  (After  Ruffer.) 


2 


Plate  LXXXIV 


DISEASES  IN  ANCIENT  EGYPT 


445 


PLATE  LXXXV 


446 


PALEOPA  THOLOGY 


PLATE  LXXXV 

ABNORMALITIES  AND  PATHOLOGY  OF  TEETH  IN  ANCIENT  EGYPTIANS 

Fig.  1. — Coptic  skull.  All  roots  exposed.  Lower  third  molar  lost  during  life, 
its  alveolus  completely  absorbed.  Second  molar  has  deep  carious  cavity  on  buc- 
cal side  of  root.  Alveoli  of  second  and  first  molars  completely  absorbed  on  buccal 
side,  probably  owing  to  long-continued  suppuration. 

Fig.  2. — Predynastic,  Naga  el  Deir.  “a”  indicates  perialveolar  inflammation. 
Pyorrhea  and  periodontitis. 

Fig.  3. — From  a pan  grave,  Ballalish.  Deep  seated  abscess  connected  with 
alveolus  of  lateral  incisor,  perforating  through  the  palate  into  mouth. 

Fig.  4. — Cleopatra’s  period,  Ras  el  Tin.  First  molar  w'holly  bare,  owing  to 
chronic  rarefying  periostitis.  Roots  of  premolars  partly  bare;  second  and  third 
molars  nearly  normal. 

Fig.  5. — Cleopatra’s  period,  Ras  el  Tin.  This  mandible  displays  a huge  alveo- 
lar abscess. 

Fig.  6. — Predynastic,  Naga  el  Deir.  Show’s  marked  signs  of  infections.  (After 
Ruffer.) 


Plate  LXXXV 


DISEASES  IN  ANCIENT  EGYPT 


PLATE  LXXXVI 


448 


PA LEOPA T HO  LOGY 


PLATE  LXXXVI 
ANCIENT  EGYPTIAN  PATHOLOGY 

a.  Skull  of  a young  woman,  supposed  by  Lortet  to  be  syphilitic,  from  the 
ancient  cemeteries  at  Roda.  The  scale-like  lesions  on  the  outer  table  accompanied 
by  cranial  hypertrophy,  are  often  seen  in  modern  calvaria  from  dissecting  rooms. 
Their  etiology  is  uncertain. 

b.  Skull  of  a baboon,  Papio  hamadryas,  showing  in  the  symmetric  hypertrophy 
of  the  cranial  bones  the  condition  often  seen  in  human  skuUs  due  to  Paget’s  dis- 
ease, more  generally  known  as  osteitis  deformans,  Leontiasis,  and  often  confused 
with  acromegaly.  The  cranium  is  one  of  a vast  number  of  mummified  apes  de- 
scribed by  Lortet  and  Gadlard  in  their  magnificent  memoir. 


Plate  LXXXVI 


DISEASES  IN  ANCIENT  EGYPT 


449 


PLATE  LXXXVII 


450 


PALEOPATHOLOGY 


PLATE  LXXX\TI 
ANCIENT  EGYPTIAN  PATHOLOGY 

a.  and  h.  Left  femur  and  tibia  of  a baboon,  showing  what  is  regarded  hy 
Professor  Poncet  as  the  results  of  rachitic  deformation.  This  is  the  oldest  example 
of  rachitis  described  adequately.  Schlosser  has  mentioned  the  bones  of  a cave 
bear  which  appear  to  indicate  rickets  but  they  have  not  been  described. 

c.  Right  humerus  of  a baboon  showing  similar  deformities. 

d.  Portion  of  the  lumbar  region  of  the  vertebral  column  of  a mummified  ape, 
showing  lesions  of  spondylitis  deformans. 

All  specimens  from  ancient  Egyptian  cemeteries  and  all  figures  after  Lortet 
and  Gaillard. 


[>LATIi  LXXXVll 


CHAPTER  XIV 


DISEASE  AMONG  THE  PRE-COLUMBIAN 
INDIANS  OF  NORTH  AMERICA 

Evidence  of  Pathology  among  American  Aborigines.  Knowledge  of  Surgery.  Descrip- 
tions of  Figures  42-45  and  Plates  LXXXVIII-XCVII  illustrating  Chapter  XIV.  Figures 
42-45  and  Plates  LXXXVIII-XCVII. 

There  is  considerable  evidence  to  show  that  many  diseases  pre- 
vailed among  the  Indians  north  of  Mexico  prior  to  the  advent  of  the 
white  people.  The  condition  of  the  skeletal  remains,  the  testimony  of 
early  observers,  and  the  present  state  of  some  of  the  tribes  in  this  re- 
gard, however,  warrant  the  conclusion  that  on  the  whole  the  Indian 
race  was  a comparatively  healthy  one.  It  was  probably  spared  at 
least  some  of  the  epidemics  and  diseases  of  the  Old  World,  such  as  small- 
pox and  rickets,  while  other  scourges,  such  as  tuberculosis,  syphilis, 
(pre-Columbian),  typhus,  cholera,  scarlet  fever,  cancer  etc.,  were  rare, 
if  occurring  at  all. 

Our  knowledge  of  the  antiquity  of  man  on  the  North  American 
continent  is  limited  to  the  rather  indefinite  testimony  furnished  by 
tradition,  by  the  more  definite  but  as  yet  fragmentary  evidences  of 
archeology,  and  by  the  internal  evidence  of  general  ethnological 
phenomena.  No  one  can  speak  with  assurance,  on  the  authority  of 
either  tradition  or  history,  of  events  dating  back  further  than  a few 
hundred  years,  and  the  highest  estimates  do  not  exceed  a few 
thousand  years.  There  is  no  definite  accepted  chronology,  such  as 
exists  for  the  Egyptian  peoples.  Careful  researches  by  Hrdhcka  have 
shown  conclusively  that  no  human  remains  of  any  great  antiquity 
have  as  yet  been  discovered  on  this  continent  and  there  seems  little 
chance  of  their  occurrence  in  this  region. 

The  erection  of  the  mounds  by  the  mound  builders  probably  was 
continued  for  many  hundred  years  and  did  not  end  until  after  the  advent 
of  white  men.  The  mounds  vary  in  extent,  measuring  from  a few  feet 
to  1000  feet  in  diameter,  and  also  in  mode  of  construction  and  con- 
tents. Many  of  the  data  on  pathological  lesions  given  below  are  based 
on  material  obtained  from  these  mounds. 


451 


452 


PALEOPATHOLOGY 


Data  regarding  the  skeletal  lesions  of  the  North  American  Indians 
are  relatively  rare,  and  are  to  be  found  scattered  throughout  a wide 
range  of  anthropological  literature  and  on  material  contained  in  many 
museums.  For  guidance  in  the  search  for  the  evidences  given  below  I 
am  indebted  to  Dr.  Ales  Hrdlicka,  who  has  written  more  than  any  other 
student  on  the  diseases  of  the  North  American  aborigines.  Under  his 
supervision  there  has  been  assembled  at  San  Diego,  California,  a large 
collection  of  early  Indian  skeletal  remains  illustrating  this  phase  of 
Paleopathology.  A catalogue  of  this  important  collection  has  been 
prepared  but  not  yet  printed.  Dr.  Hrdlicka’s  papers,  in  which  there 
are  references  to  early  pathology,  are  listed  in  the  bibliography.  Other 
writers  on  the  Paleopathology  of  the  early  races  of  North  America  are 
Parker,  Orton,  Langdon,  and  reviews  by  Fletcher,  Lamb,  Hyde, 
Morgan,  Bloch,  Virchow,  and  Buret. 

EVIDENCE  OF  PATHOLOGY  AMONG  AMERICAN  ABORIGINES 

The  pre-Columbian  Indians  of  North  American  suffered  from  a 
variety  of  injuries  and  disease,  many  of  which  resulted  in  surgical 
conditions.  Whitney^  has  discussed  these  in  his  excellent  contri- 
bution to  paleopathology,  in  which  are  described  a variety  of  traumatic 
conditions,  such  as  skull  fracture,  arrow-point  wounds,  fracture  of  the 
clavicle,  arm,  femur,  as  well  as  luxation  of  the  hip,  congenital  and 
otherwise.  Among  the  constitutional  affections  he  mentions  a variety 
of  exostoses,  periostitis,  arthritides,  caries  and  doubtful  evidences  of 
syphilis.  • 

It  is  curious  to  note  that  there  are  in  the  Peabody  IMuseum,  Har- 
vard University,  found  in  the  stone  graves  of  children  in  Tennessee, 
Arkansas  and  Missouri,  little  clay  images  (Plate  XCI)  which  are  faith- 
ful representations  of  persons  affected  with  Pott’s  disease,  and  that 
many  of  the  water-bottles  from  the  stone  graves  of  Tennessee  and  from 
the  mounds  of  Missouri  represent  women  with  hunchbacks.  Pott’s 
disease  is  seldom  indicated  on  skeletal  remains  and  it  is  possible  that 
the  clay  images  do  not  indicate  any  great  prevalence  of  vertebral 
tuberculosis  in  these  localities,  but  represent  other  spinal  deformations. 

The  skeleton  of  an  adult  and  a portion  of  the  lower  jaw  of  an  in- 
fant were  discovered  near  Lansing,  Kansas,  in  February  1902.  There 
has  been  considerable  discussion  of  the  antiquity  of  this  skeleton  but 

‘ Whitney,  William  F. : 1886,  Notes  on  the  Anomalies,  Injuries  and  Diseases  of  the 
Bones  of  the  Native  Race  of  North  America.  Peabody  Museum  Reports,  iii,  433^148. 


PRE-COLUMBIAN  PATHOLOGY  OF  NORTH  AMERICA 


453 


there  seems  to  be  no  proof  that  it  is  very  ancient.  Hrdlicka^  is  of  the 
opinion  “that  the  Lansing  skeleton  is  practically  identical  with  the 
typical  male  skeleton  of  a large  majority  of  the  present  Indians  of  the 
Middle  and  Western  states.” 

The  skeleton,  whatever  its  age,  shows  evidence  of  arthritis  defor- 
mans with  interesting  lesions,  described  by  Dr.  Charles  Parker  (1904). 

Langdon  (1881)  examined  662  skeletons  of  “pre-Columbian”  (?) 
Indian  skeletons  and  has  devoted  a special  section  of  one  of  his  studies 
to  pathology.  A nearly  entire  series  of  vertebrae  was  ankylosed  by 
spondylitis  deformans.  Other  bones  showed  extensive  osteo-arthritis 
of  the  jaw,  vertebrae,  ribs,  ilia,  and  carpals.  Periostitis,  osteitis, 
osteomyelitis,  hyperostoses,  and  other  evidences  suggested  syphilis. 
Of  141  crania  examined  only  eleven  exhibited  fractures,  which  in  a 
war-like  people,  is  very  unusual. 

Syphilis  among  pre-Columbian  races  (Figure  42)  of  North  and 
South  America  is  still  a mooted  question  and  has  been  discussed  by  a 
number  of  writers.  Jones®  suggests  this  disease  as  the  cause  of  certain 
pathological  changes  in  the  bones  of  the  aborigines  of  Tennessee.  Bloch 
has  reviewed  the  entire  question  of  prehistoric  and  pre-Columbian 
syphilis,  with  no  definite  conclusion  reached.  Hrdlicka  regards  the 
evidence  as  still  inconclusive  (see  Plate  LXXXVIII). 

KNOWLEDGE  OF  SURGERY 

Surgery  among  the  pre-Columbian  Indians  north  of  Mexico  was 
in  a comparatively  rude  state  of  advancement.  They  were  still  in  the 
stone  age  of  culture,  and  really  knew  less  about  surgical  procedures 
than  many  other  races  of  similar  progress.  A variety  of  minor  surgical 
operations  was  known  to  them.  Major  surgery  was  an  unknown  field, 
being  indicated  only  by  a few  examples  of  trephined  skulls  found  in 
^ northern  Mexico.  They  removed  small  tumors,  and  appear  to  have  been 
' versed  in  the  use  of  ligature,  using  in  late  centuries  horsehair  for  this 
purpose.  Bloodletting,  which  they  doubtless  acquired  from  the  whites, 
was  extensively  employed,  irrespective  of  the  disease.  They  used  a 
sharp-pointed  flake  of  flint  for  opening  veins,  like  the  one  figured  on  the 
right  in  Figure  43.  This  was  often  attached  either  by  a rawhide  or, 
later,  by  an  iron  pin  to  a wooden  handle.  The  blood  was  usually  taken 
from  the  seat  of  disease.  In  severe  cases  of  pains  in  the  head  they 

^Alei  Hrdlicka:  Skeletal  Remains  suggesting  or  attributed  to  early  Man  in  North 
America,  BuU.  33,  Bur.  Am.  EthnoL,  Wash.,  1907. 

Jones:  Explorations  of  the  Aboriginal  Remains  of  Tennessee.  Smithson.  Contrib. 
to  Knowl.,  Wash.,  1876,  49,  61,  65,  73,  85. 


I 


454 


PALEOPATHOLOGY 


opened  the  temporal  or  posterior  auricular  vein  or  artery  instead  of 
trephining,  as  did  many  of  the  European  peoples  in  Neolithic  times. 

The  Indians  were  really  skillful  in  the  use  of  splints  for  fractures, 
and  they  developed  a variety  of  forms  of  protection  for  the  injured 
member.  They  were  much  further  advanced  in  this  regard  than  the 
ancient  Egyptians.  How  much  the  knowledge  of  treatment  of  frac- 
tures among  the  Indians  was  due  to  the  influence  of  the  whites  is  im- 
possible to  say.  The  evidence  points  to  some  pre-Columbian  knowledge 
of  the  subject.  A particularly  well  healed  tibia  is  shown  in  Plates 
XCIV  and  XCV.  A primitive  form  of  sphnts  is  shown  in  Figure  43. 
These  were  curved  pieces  of  bark,  either  cut  to  fit  the  limb  or  else  pad- 
ded with  wet  clay,  which  on  hardening,  made  a very  good  support. 
This  parallels  and  was  almost  as  good  a support  as  a plaster-of-Paris 
cast.  If  nothing  better  offered,  strips  of  wet  rawhide  were  bound  tightly 
around  the  wounded  member.  When  dry  this  would  make  a firm  sup- 
port. Another  favorite  splint  very  frequently  used  was  made  of  a num- 
ber of  thin,  light  slats  fastened  together  with  a buckskin  thong,  so  that 
the  slats  are  all  parallel,  and  about  their  own  width  apart.  The  flexible 
lattice  work  was  properly  padded  and  wrapped  about  the  hmb.  The 
slats  at  either  end  of  the  splint  were  drawn  together  and  tied,  thus  form- 
ing a light  dressing  for  many  types  of  injuries.  This  splint  was  often 
used  for  the  prevention  of  movement  of  rheumatic  limbs.  The  presence 
and  virulence  of  arthritic  infections  are  indicated  by  the  lesions  pre- 
served on  the  skeletons.’' 

The  North  American  Indians  were  also  skillful  in  devising  supports 
for  injured  members.  A rude  form  of  crutch  is  shown  in  Figure  43. 
They  strapped  the  mammae  in  the  case  of  abscesses  and  bandaged  the 
thorax  in  all  pulmonary  inflammations.  A flint  knife,  such  as  the  one 
shown  on  the  right,  was  used  in  opening  abscesses  and  boils.  The 
pus  was  generally  removed  by  sucking,  either  directly  with  the  mouth 
or  through  a reed.  The  peculiar  wooden  instruments  shovm  (3,  Fig.  43) 
are  said  by  Freeman  to  have  been  used  in  cupping.  The  smaller  instru- 
ment is  a Cliffdweller’s  stone  pipe  used  in  the  suction  treatment  of  ab- 
scesses and  suppurating  wounds.  Bufl'alo  horn  and  other  hollow  objects 
were  also  used. 

Amputation  may  have  been  occasionally  employed,  the  bleeding 
being  stopped  by  hot  stones.  The  use  of  the  tourniquet  was  un- 
doubtedly slightly  understood,  and  other  coagulants,  such  as  spider 
webs  and  the  fine  fibers  of  plants,  were  employed.  Operations  for  the 


PRE-COLUMBIAN  PATHOLOGY  OF  NORTH  AMERICA 


455 


removal  of  the  pterygium  was  probably  the  only  knowledge  of  ophthal- 
mology among  the  Indians. 

The  knowledge  of  anesthetics  among  the  pre-Columbian  Indians 
was  not  extensive,  though  they  knew  the  use  of  certain  substances. 
The  Zunis  and  other  tribes  employed  a substance  obtained  from  the 
jimson  weed  (Datura  meteloides),  containing  stramonium.  It  was 
administered  in  sufficient  quantities  to  produce  indifference  to  pain  or 
even  complete  unconsciousness,  and  in  this  condition  abscesses  were 
opened,  fractures  set,  dislocations  reduced,  and  other  surgical  pro- 
cedures accomplished.  This,  according  to  Freeman,  represents  the 
knowledge  of  the  Indians  in  modern  times.  It  doubtless  merely  sug- 
gests the  state  of  knowledge  among  the  more  ancient  peoples  who  in- 
habited this  continent.  In  this  connection  may  be  also  mentioned  the 
psychic  states  induced  by  the  medicine  men  with  their  bizarre  make- 
ups, weird  incantations,  and  fantastic  antics,  all  of  which  were  well 
calculated  to  make  a profound  inpression  on  their  credulous  patients. 

Trephining  was  practised  among  the  Tarahumare  Indians  (Figure 
45)  of  Chihuahua  in  northern  Mexico,  but  this  did  not  spread  north 
of  the  Rio  Grande.  The  few  examples  known  are  doubtless  to  be 
traced  to  influence  emanating  from  Peru,  where  trepanning  was 
extensively  performed. 


PRE-COLUMBIAN  PATHOLOGY  OF  NORTH  AMERICA 


457 


I 


1 

I DESCRIPTIONS  OF  FIGURES  42-45  AND  PLATES  LXXXVIII-XCVII 
ILLUSTRATING  CHAPTER  XIV 

Note:  A large  collection  of  supposedly  pre-Columbian  Indian  remains  was  loaned  the 
writer  for  a long  period  of  time  by  Dr.  Sullivan  of  the  American  Museum  of  Natural  History. 
The  following  plates  represent  the  results  of  my  study  of  this  collection.  These  figures  form 
an  important  contribution  to  the  Paleopathology  of  the  pre-Columbian  North  American 
Indians. 


458 


PALEOPATHOLOGY 


Figure  42 

a.  Portion  of  frontal  of  a pre-Columbian  North  American  Indian  showing 
perforating  injuries. 

b.  Inner  view  of  a skull  with  a perforating  injury,  possibly  to  be  attributed 
to  an  arrow-point.  (After  Fletcher.) 

c.  d,  and  e.  Cross-sections  through  tibiae  of  supposedly  syphilitic  bones  of 
pre-Columbian  Indians  from  mounds  in  the  Ohio  valley  showing  sclerosis  and 
porosis  in  walls.  The  medullary  cavities  are  almost  filled  wdth  spicules. 

/.  A cross-section  of  a recent  tibia  for  comparison  with  the  ancient  diseased 
bones.  (After  Orton.) 


Figure  42 


PRE-COLUMBIAN  PATHOLOGY  OF  NORTH  AMERICA 


459 


» 


FIGURE  43 


v'tl : 

. ..  ti.  }>.l  -*'•  / 

e\wv'Vt>  »*;  '■ 


460 


PALEOPATHOLOGY 


Figure  43 

1.  Splints  of  bark  found  in  an  ancient  cliff  dwelling  of  southwestern  Colorado. 
These  were  padded  with  wet  clay  and  fitted  to  the  fractured  limb,  then  bound  with 
rawhide.  (After  Freeman.) 

2.  Crutches  found  in  cliff  dwelling  of  southern  Utah.  They  may  be  due  to 
the  influence  of  the  whites,  though  the  primitive  Indians  were  skilful  in  devising 
supports  for  the  injured.  Originals  in  Field  Museum.  (After  Freeman.) 

3.  The  larger  is  a peculiar  wooden  instrument  with  cupped  end,  and  a hole  on 
one  side  slanted  upward,  into  which  a hollow  reed  could  be  inserted.  This  instru- 
ment was  possibly  used  in  cupping,  by  pressing  the  hollowed  out  end  against 
the  skin  and  sucking  out  the  air  through  the  reed.  The  smaller  object  is  a Cliff 
Dweller’s  stone  pipe  which  may  also  have  been  used  in  cupping  and  the  suction 
treatment  of  abscesses  and  suppurating  wounds.  (After  Freeman.) 

4.  The  object  on  the  left  is  a sharp-pointed  flint  flake  such  as  the  primitive 
Indians  used  in  opening  a vein  or  an  abscess.  The  one  to  the  right  served  as  a 
knife.  Such  flint  flakes  are  very  common  in  archeological  collections.  It  is  not 
probable  that  the  Indians  designed  implements  exclusively  for  surgical  purposes. 


PRE-COLUMBIAN  PATHOLOGY  OF  NORTH  AMERICA  461 


FIGURE  44 


462 


PALEOPA THOLOGY 


Figure  44 

A bark  (orthopedic?)  corset  doubtless  used  for  treatment  of  spinal  lesions 
and  suggesting  considerable  knowledge  of  spinal  disturbances.  Used  by  the 
primitive  Indians  of  western  North  America.  (After  Freeman.) 


Figure  -W 


PRE-COLUMBIAN  PATHOLOGY  OF  NORTH  AMERICA 


463 


FIGURE  45 


464 


PALEOPATHOLOGY 


Figure  45 

Map  of  North  America  showing  distribution  of  Indian  tribes.  (Courtesy  of 
Dr.  Clark  Wissler.) 


PRE-COLUMBIAN  PATHOLOGY  OF  NORTH  AMERICA 


465 


PLATE  LXXXVIII 


466 


PALEOPA THOLOGY 


PLATE  LXXXVin 

PRE-COLUMBIAN  PATHOLOGY  OF  NORTH  AMERICA 

The  left  tibia  of  a male  North  American,  pre-Columbian,  Indian  from  Pueblo, 
San  Cristobal,  New  Mexico,  showing  hypertrophy  due  to  osteomyelitis  or  syphilis(?) 
or  some  general  osteitis.  This  bone  is  figured  to  show  type  of  hypertrophy  which  is 
commonly  ascribed  to  pre-Columbian  Syphilis.  Original  No.  99/6703,  American 
Museum  of  Natural  History. 


Plate  LXXXVIII 


PRE-COLUMBIAN  PATHOLOGY  OF  NORTH  AMERICA 


467 


PLATE  LXXXIX 


468 


PALEOPATHOLOGY 


PLATE  Lxxxrx 

PRE-COLUMBIAN  PATHOLOGY  OF  NORTH  AMERICA 

a.  Hypertrophied  ulna  of  a pre-Columbian  Indian  from  Pueblo,  San  Cristobal, 
N.  M.,  showing  a congestive  osteitis  which  recalls  the  results  of  syphihs.  Such 
evidence  is,  however,  not  sufficient  to  establish  the  presence  of  syphilis  in  pre- 
Columbian  America.  Original  in  the  American  Museum  of  Natural  History. 

b,  c,  d.  Elbow-joint  of  a pre-Columbian  Indian  from  Pueblo  Bonito,  N.  M., 
showing  the  result  of  hypertrophic  arthritis,  with  many  eburnated  surfaces.  The 
exostoses  are  of  highly  cancellous  bone.  Original  in  American  Museum  of  Natural 
History. 


Plate  LXXXIX 


PRE-COLUMBIAN  PATHOLOGY  OF  NORTH  AMERICA  469 


PLATE  XC 


470 


PALEOPATHOLOGY 


PLATE  XC 

PRE-COLUMBIAN  PATHOLOGY  OF  NORTH  AMERICA 

Humerus  of  a male  pre-Columbian  Indian  of  North  America  from  May’s 
Lick,  Kentucky,  showing,  in  anterior  and  posterior  views,  the  hypertrophic  changes 
which  have  deformed  the  shaft.  Original  No.  20/1268,  American  Museum  of  Natu- 
ral History. 


Plate  XC 


PRE-COLUMBIAN  PATHOLOGY 


NORTH  AMERICA  471 


'V;:  ' v;  ■ 


472 


PALEOPATHOLOGY 


PLATE  Xa 

PRE-COLUMBIAN  PATHOLOGY  OF  NORTH  AMERICA 

Upper  figure.  Diseased  (tuberculous?)  lumbar  vertebrae  of  an  early  (pre- 
Columbian?)  North  American  Indian  from  a mound  in  northern  Louisiana,  sug- 
gesting Pott’s  disease.  (After  Hrdlicka.) 

Lower  left.  Hunchback  clay  images,  commonly  found  in  the  mounds  of  Arkan- 
sas, Missouri,  and  Tennessee  stone  graves.  While  suggesting  Pott’s  disease  it  is 
doubtful  whether  the  presence  of  them  in  the  graves  indicates  any  great  prevalence 
of  vertebral  tuberculosis  in  those  regions.  Original  in  Peabody  Museum  of  Harvard 
University. 

Lower  right.  Photomicrograph  of  diseased  bone  taken  from  the  specimen  shown 
in  Plate  XCVI.  X 100. 


Plate  XCI 


i' PRE-COi,UMBIAN  PATHOLOGY  OF  NORTH  AMERICA 


473 


PLATE  XCII 


474 


PALEOPATHOLOGY 


PLATE  xcn 

PRE-COLUMBIAN  PATHOLOGY  OF  NORTH  AMERICA 

a.  and  c.  Posterior  and  lateral  views  of  the  lower  end  of  a male  humerus,  pre- 
Columbian  Indian  of  Grand  Gulch,  Utah,  showing  lesions  of  arthritis  deformans. 
Original  in  American  Museum  of  Natural  History. 

b.  Diseased  head  of  humerus  of  a pre-Columbian  Indian,  possibly  due  to  a frac- 
ture of  the  neck  and  accompanied  by  arthritis  deformans. 

d.  Lumbar  vertebra  of  an  Indian  (pre-Columbian?)  showing  a type  of  ancient 
injury.  The  spear-point  of  antler  has  penetrated  the  canal  of  the  vertebra  and  has 
remained  fixed  after  possibly  hundreds  of  years  since  the  injury  was  inflicted. 
Death  doubtless  ensued  shortly  after  the  injury  for  there  is  no  indication  of  heahng. 
(After  Miller.) 


Plate  XCII 


PRE-COLUMBIAN  PATHOLOGY  OF  NORTH  AMERICA  475 


PLATE  XCIII 


476 


PALEOPATHOLOGY 


PLATE  xcrn 

PRE-COLUMBIAN  PATHOLOGY  OF  NORTH  AMERICA 

Left.  Photograph  of  the  tibia  shown  in  the  drawing  (Plate  LXXX\^II). 
Male  pre-Columbian  Indian  from  Pueblo,  San  Cristobal,  New  Mexico,  showing 
hypertrophic  osteitis  suggesting  syphilis.  Original  No.  99/ 6703,  American  Museum 
of  Natural  History. 

Right.  Male  pre-Columbian  Indian  vertebrae  with  osseous  bridges  forming  an 
unusual  type  of  vertebral  arthritis.  Grand  Gulch,  Utah.  Originals  in  the  American 
Museum  of  Natural  History. 


Plate  XCIII 


PRE-COLUMBIAN  PATHOLOGY  OF  NORTH  AMERICA 


477 


PLATE  XCIV 


478 


PALEOPATHOLOGY 


PLATE  XCIV 

PRE-COLUMBIAN  PATHOLOGY  OF  NORTH  AMERICA 

Posterior  radiographs  of  the  following  bones; 

a.  Fractured  and  well-healed  tibia,  male  pre-Columbian  Indian,  May’s  Lick, 
Kentucky,  No.  20/1268,  American  Museum  of  Natural  History. 

b.  Hypertrophied  ulna  (syphilitic?)  of  a male  pre-Columbian  Indian  from 

Pueblo,  San  Cristobal,  New  Mexico.  No.  American  Museum  of  Natural 

History. 

c.  Hypertrophied  tibia  (shown  in  Plate  LXXXVIII)  of  a male  pre-Columbian 
Indian  of  Pueblo,  San  Cristobal,  New  Mexico.  No.  99/6703,  American  Museum  of 
Natural  History. 


Plate  XCIV 


PRE-COLUMBIAN  PATHOLOGY  OF  NORTH  AMERICA 


479 


PLATE  XCV 


N, 


J 


480 


PALEOPATHOLOGY 


PLATE  XCV 

PRE-COLUMBIAN  PATHOLOGY  OF  NORTH  AMERICA 

Radiographs  from  the  anterior  surfaces  of  the  same  bones  shown  in  Plate 
XCIV. 


j 


Plate  XCV 


PRE-COLUMBIAN  PATHOLOGY  OF  NORTH  AMERICA 


482 


PALEOPA THOLOGY 


PLATE  XCVI 

PRE-COLUMBIAN  PATHOLOGY  OF  NORTH  AMERICA 

Diseased  lumbar  vertebrae  of  a North  American  Pre-Columbian  Indian. 
Male.  Found  at  Grand  Gulch,  Utah.  The  original  is  in  the  American  Museum  of 
Natural  History. 


Plate  XCVl 


PRE-COLUMBIAN  PATHOLOGY  OF  NORTH  AMERICA 


483 


PLATE  XCVII 


484 


PALEOPATHOLOGY 


PLATE  XCVII 

PRE-COLUMBIAN  PATHOLOGY  OF  NORTH  AMERICA 

a.  Exostoses  of  spondylitis  deformans  on  sacrum,  immediately  below  last 
lumbar  of  a male  pre-Columbian  Indian  from  Grand  Gulch,  Utah.  Original  in 
American  Museum  of  Natural  History. 

b.  Lower  posterior  surface  of  the  right  femur  of  a male  pre-Columbian  Indian 
from  Cora,  Mexico,  showing  lesions  of  osteo-arthritis.  Original  in  American  Mu- 
seum of  Natural  History. 

c.  Spear-point  injury  in  an  ancient  North  American  Indian. 


Plate  XCVII 


CHAPTER  XV 


DISEASES  OF  THE  ANCIENT  PERUVIANS 

Uta,  as  depicted  on  ancient  water  jars.  Trephining  in  South  America.  Diseases  of  the 
teeth.  Descriptions  of  Figures  46-49  and  Plates  XCV-CXVII  illustrating  Chapter  XV. 
Figures  46-49  and  Plates  XCVIII-CXVII. 

The  paleopathology  of  South  America  is  largely  confined  to  the 
Peruvian  region^  and  chiefly  to  that  occupied  by  the  Peruvian  Indians 
under  the  Incas.  This  area  embraced  at  times  wide  portions  of  what 
are  now  the  modern  states  of  Chili,  Bolivia,  Peru,  Brazil  and  Ecuador, 
since  at  various  times  in  the  history  of  the  Inca  princes  they  sent 
conquering  expeditions  into  these  regions,  on  which  they  left  more  or 
less  impress  of  their  culture. 

Of  the  peoples  of  the  northwestern  coast  of  South  America,  once 
ruled  by  a more  or  less  mythical  prince  known  as  the  Grand  Chimu,  and 
subsequently  subdued  by  the  Incas  several  decades  prior  to  the  coming 
of  the  Spaniards,  little  or  nothing  is  known,  save  what  we  may  learn 
from  the  ruins  of  their  edifices,  and  the  ornaments,  textiles,  potteries 
(huacos)  and  other  objects  taken  from  their  tombs  (chulpas).  Nothing 
of  the  physical  anthropology  or  paleopathology  of  this  race  is  known. 

The  more  ancient  inhabitants  of  the  Peruvian  territory,  the  meg- 
alithic  predecessors  to  the  Incas,  centered  around  Lake  Titicaca. 
Later  the  Inca  prince,  Manco  Capac,  led  the  people  northward  to  the 
place  where  his  magic  golden  wand  disappeared  into  the  earth,  and 
where  he  established  the  City  of  the  Sun,  the  golden  city  of  Cuzco, 
which  still  survives  under  the  original  name  but  is  modernized  by  being 
the  terminal  of  the  Peruvian  Railroad.  Here,  surrounded  by  high, 
rugged  mountains  and  deep  gorges  they  developed  one  of  the  most 
advanced  American  civilizations,  which  was  only  approached  in  perfec- 
tion by  the  ancient  Mayas  of  Yucatan  before  the  subsidence  of  the 
earth,  through  geologic  changes,  resulted  in  unfitting  their  territory 
for  human  habitation. 

' All  that  is  known  outside  of  this  area  is  the  pathological  condition  in  the  skull  fragment 
of  aprunitive  man,  described  by  Ameghino  as  Diprothomo  plaiensis,  which  shows  a perforating 
skull  injury,  due  possibly  to  an  arrow  point,  which  had  been  slightly  septic  but  had  been  well 
healed. 


485 


486 


PALEOPA  T HO  LOGY 


On  account  of  their  well  organized  social  systems,  their  agricultural 
and  mechanic  arts,  military  knowledge  and  architecture,  their  civiliza- 
tion has  appealed  to  the  imagination  of  students  of  history,  sociology, 
and  anthropology  for  many  decades,  centuries  in  fact.  Since  the 
discovery  and  first  exploration  and  exploitation  of  Peru  by  the  Pizarros 
and  their  companions  from  1532-1540,^  there  have  been  many  interest- 
ing and  important  contributions  to  our  knowledge®  of  the  anthropology, 
archeology  and  linguistics  of  the  three  or  four  larger  “races”  or  groups 
of  Indians  who  in  ancient  times  inhabited  the  Peruvian  territory' 
(Figure  46)  from  the  sea  up  to  the  highest  mountain  peaks,  which 
at  present  reach  an  elevation  of  more  than  18,000  feet.^  These  groups 
of  peoples,  variously  known  as  the  Aymara  and  the  Quechua,  in  the 
central  and  southern  highlands;  the  Huancas,  in  the  north;  and  the 
Fungas  or  Chinchas,  along  the  coast,  besides  a considerable  number  of 
unclassified  tribes  in  the  northeastern  and  northern  regions  of  the 
Peruvian  territory,  all  spoke  a number  of  different  languages,  and 
differed  from  each  other  in  many  respects.  Markham®  finds  a strong 
similarity  running  through  the  various  languages  and  attributes  them 
all  to  a common  stem  language,  the  Quichua  or  Runa-simi,  of  which 
there  is  a dictionary  by  Torres  Rubio,  which  has  been  revised  by  Sir 
Clements  Markham. 

So  little  is  known  of  the  physical  anthropology  of  these  ancient 


* The  best  modern  account  of  this  Spanish  expedition  is  that  of  Wm.  H.  Prescott:  Con- 
quest of  Peru.  He  based  his  account  on  the  writings  of  the  Spaniards  to  whom  he  gives 
abundant  references. 

® Chief  among  these  is  the  work  of  E.  George  Squier:  Peru,  Incidents  of  Travel  and 
Exploration  in  the  Land  of  the  Incas,  London,  1877.  This  work  was  the  result  of  several 
months  personal  exploration  of  the  ancient  civilizations  of  Peru.  A very  charming  work  is  that 
of  Sir  Clements  Markham:  The  Incas  of  Peru,  London,  1912.  GarcUasso  de  la  Vega,  a 
descendant  of  the  Inca  princes  through  the  marriage  of  his  Spanish  father  to  an  Inca  princess 
has  left  very  valuable  records  of  the  life  of  these  people  which  have  now  almost  entirely  dis- 
appeared. 

* Sir  Clements  Markham:  Incas  of  Peru,  London,  1912,  p.  38,  adduces  evidence  to  show 
that  there  has  been  considerable  elevation  of  the  region  since  its  occupation  b}'  the  Spaniards, 
and  was  hence  much  lower  at  the  time  of  the  Incas.  This  would,  if  true,  explain  the  possi- 
bility of  raising  maize  around  Lake  Titicaca  and  Cuzco  in  ancient  times  in  sufficient  quantity 
to  support  a large  population.  There  is  little  geological  evidence  to  support  such  an  extensive 
uplift  as  Sir  Markham  suggest,  and  if  the  region  has  risen  at  aU  it  is  only  to  be  measured  in 
feet.  The  conclusions  of  Darw'in,  quoted  by  Markham,  are  rendered  doubtful  b}'  more  recent 
evidence.  It  should  be  noted,  however,  that  Dr.  Edward  W.  Berr}^,  on  paleobotamcal 
evidence  has  postulated  a rise  of  tw'o  and  a half  miles  in  the  Bolivian  plateau  since  Pliocene 
times.  Whether  this  uplift  is  at  present  continuous  is  not  known,  and  we  cannot  be  sure  what 
part  of  it  has  taken  place  in  the  past  400  years. 

^ Incas  of  Peru:  London,  1912.  Chap.  X,  Language  and  Literature  of  the  Incas. 


PATHOLOGY  OF  THE  ANCIENT  PERUVIANS 


487 


peoples  that  no  definite  classification  of  them  has  yet  been  made.® 
, The  temples  and  huge  walls  built  by  the  magalithic  predecessors  of  the 
Inca  race,  as  well  as  the  structures  reared  under  the  direction  of  the 
Incas,  have  appealed  strongly  to  the  early  explorers,  many  of  whom 
spent  huge  sums  in  investigating  the  monuments  in  search  of  treasures 
of  gold  and  silver.  They  destroyed  much  more  than  they  recovered, 
although  occasionally  large  amounts  of  precious  metals  were  obtained. 
Squier  tells  very  clearly  how  objects  of  interest  to  the  scientific  man 
: were  ruthlessly  destroyed.  Skeletons  and  mummies  were  thrown  to 
one  side  as  so  much  soil,  and  thus  was  lost  through  hundreds  of  years 
precious  evidences  bearing  on  the  anthropology  and  paleopathology  of 
these  races.  The  same  statement  holds  true,  however,  for  even 
scientific  explorers  in  the  Orient,  where  the  chief  interests  were  archeo- 
' logical  and  human  remains  have  been  largely  disregarded.  Well  or- 
ganized exploring  expeditions  of  a scientific  nature,  such  as  those  from 
the  Smithsonian  Institution,  and  the  Yale  University  and  National 
Geographic  Society  Peruvian  Expedition  headed  by  Professor  Hiram 
. Bingham  have  been  well  described^  and  will  be  referred  to  in  this 
chapter.  The  enormous  size  of  the  buildings,  the  huge  blocks  of  stone, 
beautifully  fitted,  of  which  they  are  composed,  as  well  as  the  enormous 
distances  they  must  have  been  transported,  wdthout  vehicles  of  any 
kind,  have  aroused  the  amazement  and  wonder  of  students  of  the 
subject  and  have  so  far  largely  over-powered  other  interests. 

The  antiquity  of  the  ancient  Peruvian  race  is  not  known,  but  the 
megalithic  buildings,  the  probable  authenticity  of  the  long  list  of  Inca 
kings,®  and  traditions  carry  some  indication  of  an  antiquity  of  three 
thousand  years  (from  1300  b.  c.),  although  there  is  little  definitely 
known  of  these  ancient  races  prior  to  the  thirteenth  century  A.  d.® 

There  is  sufi&cient  evidence  to  prove  the  presence  of  a number  of 
. interesting  diseases  among  these  ancient  peoples,  who  with  the  Nahua, 
the  Maya,  the  Chibcha,  the  Toltecs  and  the  Aztecs,  represented  the 
highest  development  of  Am^erican  civilization,  prior  to  its  destruction 
by  the  Spaniards  in  the  sixteenth  century.  The  study  of  these  ancient 
races  forms  one  of  the  most  interesting  phases  of  ancient  history. 

® Ales  Hrdlicka : Some  Results  of  recent  anthropological  Explorations  in  Peru.  Smith- 
son.  Misc.  Collect.,  Wash.,  1911,  Ivi,  2. 

’'Hiram  Bingham:  In  the  Wonderland  of  Peru,  Natl.  Geog.  Mag.,  Wash.,  xxiv,  1913, 

; 387-573,  250  photos;  The  Story  of  Machu  Picchu,  Ibid.,  xxvii,  1915,  172-217,  as  well  as  the 
memoir  of  Eaton  which  is  referred  to  below. 

® Sir  Clements  Markham:  Incas  of  Peru,  1912,  Chap.  III. 

® Clark  Wissler:  The  American  Indian,  New  York,  1917,  271. 


i 


i 


488 


PALEOPATHOLOGY 


Breasted  has  called  the  attention  of  the  Orientalists,  particularly,  to 
the  methods  pursued  by  the  Americanists  in  elucidating  the  history 
of  the  early  American  people.  But  even  the  Americanists  have  not 
been  making  use  of  all  available  data,  and  until  we  know  all  that  is  to 
be  known  from  all  evidences  we  do  not  know  early  American  civiliza- 
tions as  they  should  be  known. 

On  the  whole  the  well-being  of  the  ancient  Peruvians  seems  to  have 
been  a very  healthy  one,  and  only  a few  diseases  are  known.  Letulle 
has  noticed,  in  an  ancient  Peruvian  skull,  probably  pre-Columbian, 
a condition  similar  to  goundou  or  gundu,  (Figure  47)  a disease  met 
with  in  West  Africa,  and  characterized  by  a swelling  of  the  bone  at 
the  root  of  the  nose.  The  disease  is  also  known  to  occur  in  Malaysia.^** 

The  features  depicted  on  an  ancient  Peruvian  water  jar  (Figure  b 
Plate  CXII)  indicate  the  prevalence  of  gundu  in  pre-Columbian  times 
and  recall  the  usual  form  (Figure  47)  taken  by  the  disease  in 
Africa.”  This  water  jar,  about  8 inches  high,  preserved  in  the  American 
Museum  of  Natural  History,  must  have  been  modeled  by  some  early 
potter  who  was  familiar  with  the  lesions  of  goundou.  The  disease  is 
not  known  to  occur  in  Peru  at  the  present  day. 

Among  the  most  loathsome  of  the  present  day  dermatological 
lesions  found  in  Peru  at  the  present  time  is  the  disease  known  as 
Verruga  peruviana.  The  history  of  this  disease  and  its  etiolog}^  are 
given  by  Strong”  from  whose  report  it  appears  that  this  disease  has 
afiflicted  the  inhabitants  from  remote  historical  times.  The  disease 
appears  first  as  a fever,  with  anemia  and  a nodular  eruption  upon  the 
skin.  Over  four  centuries  ago,  during  the  reign  of  the  Inca,  Huayan 
Capac,  thousands  of  lives  w'ere  swept  away,  supposedly  by  this  disease. 
Zarate”  in  his  history  of  the  conquest  of  Peru  says  that  Verruga  was 
more  destructive  than  small-po.x.  De  la  Vega,  a Peruvian  writer  of 
mixed  Inca  and  Spanish  blood,  says  that  a quarter  of  the  invading  army 
of  Francisco  Pizarro  perished  from  this  disease.  The  presence  of  this 
disease  in  pre-Columbian  times  is  authenticated  by  the  preservation  of 
an  ancient  vase  or  water  jar  described  by  Ashmead.”  This  pottery 

Schlagenhaufen : 1918.  Schadel  eines  an  Gundu  erkrankten  Melaniesiers.  Mittheil. 
Geog.  Ethnol.  Ges.,  Zurich,  with  a good  bibliography  of  the  disease. 

Joseph  Gaston,  1913.  Le  Goundou.  Bull.  Soc.  d’Anthrop.  de  Paris,  65,  IV,  No.  3—1,  p. 

389. 

A..  CasteUani:  Manual  of  Tropical  Medicine,  1913,  1345. 

Harvard  School  of  Tropical  Medicine.  Expedition  to  South  .\merica,  1913.8. 

Zarate:  Historia  del  discubrimento  de  Peru,  1545,  i,  4,  ii,  1. 

'^Albert  S.  Ashmead:  1895.  Photographs  of  two  ancient  Peruvian  vases,  with  some 
particularities  presented  by  them,  and  some  observations  about  them.  J.  Cutan.  &:  Genito- 
urinary Diseases,  xiii,  465-466. 


PATHOLOGY  OF  THE  ANCIENT  PERUVIANS 


489 


figure,  evidently  of  an  achondroplastic  dwarf,  represents  a human 
figure  whose  entire  body  is  covered  with  nodular  eruptions  in  the  skin. 
It  may  very  well  represent  the  Verruga  peruviana  (Plate  CXII,  a). 

UTA,  AS  DEPICTED  ON  ANCIENT  WATER  JARS 

One  of  the  most  dreaded  and  most  widely  distributed  diseases 
afflicting  the  inhabitants  of  Peru  and  adjoining  territory  at  the  present 
time  is  Uta,  an  ulcerative  disease  which  has  been  known  in  Peru  since 
prehistoric  times.  Lesions  of  the  malady  are  frequently  depicted  on  the 
“huacos”  or  ancient  pottery  (Plate  CXI)  of  the  Incas.  The  disease 
has  been  widely  misunderstood  and  has  been  confused  with  other 
ulcerative  processes  and  has  been  regarded  as  a prehistoric  form  of 
syphilis  and  leprosy.  More  recently  it  has  been  regarded  as  a form  of 
lupus  vulgaris,  or  as  a distinct  infection.  Its  etiology  was  utterly  un- 
known prior  to  the  Harvard  expedition  to  South  America,  when  it 
was  finally  diagnosed  as  uta  or  Leishmaniasis,^^  due  to  an  undetermined 
species  of  Leishmania.  They  were  able  to  obtain  the  flagellate  stage 
of  the  organism  in  cultures  and  to  inoculate  successfully  a dog  with  it. 
Uta  or  Leishmaniasis  is  widely  distributed  today,  being  known  from 
Argentine  northward  to  Mexico.^®  That  it  probably  existed  for  many 
centuries  in  pre-Columbian  times  is  indicated  by  the  features  depicted 
on  the  “huacos”  or  Inca  pottery  figured  by  Tamayo^^  and  De  Palma, 
examples  of  which  are  not  uncommon  in  museum  collections.  Several 
examples  are  shown  herewith  (Plates  CX,  CXI  and  CXII)  by  courtesy 
of  the  American  Museum  of  Natural  History.  Since  the  disease  at- 
tacks only  the  skin,  flesh  and  cartilage,  and  does  not  affect  the  bones 
nothing  has  been  seen  on  the  various  skeletal  elements  in  the  col- 
lections, to  indicate  its  presence  (Plate  CII,  a and  c). 

The  disease  must  have  been  very  prevalent  in  ancient  times  if  we 
may  judge  by  the  frequency  of  its  representation  on  the  ancient  pot- 
teries. The  lesions  depicted  on  the  jars  are  those  usually  of  the  most 
advanced  stages.  The  disease  begins  with  a small,  insignificant- 
appearing papule  which  gradually  increases  in  size,  and  after  a month 
or  two  a lesion  measuring  usually  from  1 to  3 cm.  in  diameter  is  formed. 
The  face,  mouth,  lips,  ear  and  neck  are  more  commonly  affected,  but 

Richard  P.  Strong:  Harvard  School  of  Tropical  Medicine.  Expedition  to  South 
America.  1913,  Chap.  vi. 

“ Edmundo  Escomel:  Leishmaniasis,  Buenos  Aires,  1917. 

M.  0.  Tamayo:  La  Uta  en  el  Peru,  Lima,  1908. 

Ricardo  de  Palma:  La  Uta  del  Peru,  Lima,  1908. 


490 


PALEOPATHOLOGY 


the  ulcerations  may  occur  on  the  arms  or  legs,  being  especially  common 
in  children.  Some  of  the  features  depicted  on  the  water  jars  evidently 
represent  the  effects  of  surgical  interference  to  prevent  the  spread  of  the 
disease.  Such  a condition  is  thus  evidently  pictured  in  the  vase  shown 
in  fig.  a Plate  CX.  It  is  not  remarkable,  particularly,  that  the  ancient 
Peruvians  should  have  depicted  the  lesions  of  this  loathsome  disease 
on  their  water  jars  since  the  most  astonishing  work  of  these  early 
Indians  was  their  modelling  and  painting  in  clay,  and  it  is  not  too  much 
to  say  that  not  only  the  fauna  and  flora,  but  also  the  manners  and 
customs  of  the  people,  are  depicted  or  modelled  on  their  vases.  These 
“huacos”  have  been  collected  and  studied  from  early  times  and  Ash- 
mead  especially  has  called  attention  to  the  pictures  of  pathology  which 
some  of  them  carry. 

There  is  only  one  other  type  of  skin  lesion  depicted  on  the  “hua- 
cos” and  this  is  shown  in  Figure  c Plate  CXII,  w^here  the  seated  figures 
are  shown  examining  the  soles  of  their  feet,  in  which  there  are  numerous 
rounded  openings  from  which  have  been  removed  the  egg-sacs  of  the 
“nigua”  a kind  of  sand  flea  or  jigger  abundant  in  certain  parts  of  Peru 
which  bore  holes  in  the  soles  of  the  feet  and  deposit  their  egg  sacs.  Un- 
less these  sacs  are  removed  entirely  disastrous  results  are  likely  to  en- 
sue. 

TREPHINING  IN  SOUTH  .AMERICA 

The  antiquity  of  the  surgical  procedure  of  trephining  or  trepanning 
has  already  been  discussed  (Chap.  XII)  and  it  remains  to  be  told  here 
to  what  a high  degree  of  frequency  it  was  performed,  especially  in  Peru, 
some  of  the  probable  causes  of  this  operation,  and  the  basis  on  w’hich 
the  conclusions  rest.  In  Peru  trephining  reached  a high  degree  of  per- 
fection, being  extensively  practiced. 

Bandelier  (1904)  found  that  trephining  is  still  performed  in  Bolma, 
and  probably  also  in  the  highlands  of  Peru  by  the  Aymara  Indians. 
The  operation,  as  witnessed  by  Bandelier  was  performed  wdth  w^ell- 
sharpened  pocket  knives,  by  the  shaman,  who  is  also  frequently  a 
medicine  man.^®  The  process  was  usually  performed  for  depressed 
fractures,  for  headaches  and  as  performed  in  Boli\da  was  essentially 
one  of  cutting  and  scraping.  Some  of  the  specimens  collected  by 
Bandelier,  now  preserved  in  the  American  Museum  of  Natural  His- 
tory, indicate  that  the  process  was  repeated  from  tw'o  to  four  times, 
without  fatal  results  (Plate  CVIII  and  CIX). 

Clark  Wissler:  The  American  Indian,  N.  Y.  1917,  187. 


PATHOLOGY  OF  THE  ANCIENT  PERUVIANS 


491 


A skull,  probably  trephined  post-mortem,  was  discovered  at  Chac- 
lacayo,  near  Lima,  Peru,  and  described  by  Otis  Mason,^°  although  it  is 
easily  possible  that  the  operation  may  have  been  fatal,  since  there  are 
other  skulls,  such  as  the  one  described  by  EscomeP^  which  shows  that 
after  two  successful  operations  the  third  was  fatal,  although  the  third 
may  also  have  been  post-mortem.  Many  of  the  operations  seen  in  the 
Muniz  collections^  were  performed  during  life,  with  many  of  the  skulls 
showing  good  recovery  and  partially  healed  wounds,  but  the  percent- 
age of  pre-  and  post-mortem  operations  in  Peru  has  not  been  deter- 
mined. The  cause  for  the  operation  as  outlined  by  Tello  of  LimaS^  are; 
a)  an  antecedent  fracture;  b)  a simple  traumatism  of  the  cranium 
which  denuded  the  periosteum  was  followed  or  not  by  an  inflammatory 
process;  c)  a circumcised  periostitis  or  osteoperiostitis,  perhaps  also 
of  traumatic  origin;  d)  lesions  possibly  of  a syphilitic  nature.  Some 
doubt  has  been  expressed  as  to  the  age  of  the  specimens  described  by 
Tello,  and  especially  is  the  nature  of  pre-Columbian  syphilis  in  doubt. 

The  contribution  of  Peruvian  trephining  which  surpasses  all  others 
is  that  of  Muniz  and  McGee^^  based  on  an  extensive  collection  of  skulls 
and  skeletons  and  other  anthropological  material,  made  by  Muniz 
during  the  course  of  several  years  exploration.  Since  this  splendid 
memoir  is  so  readily  accessible  to  students  of  the  subject,  it  will  not  be 
reviewed  here.  The  report  contains  a careful,  systematic  description 
of  ancient  trephined  skulls. 

In  a previous  paper^^  I have  described  the  practice  of  trephining  so 
that  little  need  be  said  here  as  to  the  method  of  operation.  I have 
thought  it  worth  while  to  add,  however,  a description  of  two  skulls  and 
illustrate  them  to  show  on  the  one  hand  a detailed  figure  of  the  result 
of  trephining  by  scraping  (Fig.  b Plate  CVII),  and  on  the  other  the 
cause  of  trephining  in  a skull  with  a linear  fracture  (Fig.  b,  Plate  CX). 

^“Otis  T.  Mason:  1885,  The  Chaclacayo  trephined  skull;  v/ith  measurements  by  Dr. 
Irwm  C.  Rosse,  U.  S.  A.  Proc.  U.  S.  Nat.  Mus.,  Wash.,  410-412,  pi.  22,  and  list  of  measure- 
ments. 

” Edmundo  Escomel:  Un  caso  interesante  de  trepanacion  incaica.  La  Cronica  Medica, 
Lima,  1916,  with  fig.  Also:  Un  cas  de  trepanation  prehistorique.  BuU.  et  mem.  Soc.  de 
Chirur.  Par.,  Mars,  1909. 

J.  McGee:  Primitive  trephining,  illustrated  by  the  Muniz  peruvian  collection. 
Johns  Hopks.  Hosp.  Bull.,  v,  1-3,  1894. 

Julio  C.  Tello:  Prehistoric  Trephining  among  the  Yauyos  of  Peru.  Proc.  18th  Intern. 
Congress  Americanists,  London,  1913,  75-84,  3 pis. 

^^M.  A.  Muniz  and  W.  J.  McGee:  Primitive  Trephining  in  Peru,  16th  Ann.  Rep.  Bur. 
Amer.  EthnoL,  Washington,  1897,  40  plates. 

Studies  in  Paleopathology:  Some  ancient  SkuU  Lesions  and  the  Practice  of  Trephining 
in  prehistoric  Times.  Surgical  Clinics  of  Chicago,  June,  1919. 


492 


PALEOPATHOLOGY 


In  the  study  above  referred  to  I mentioned  skulls  which  showed  certain 
variable  necrotic  areas,  none  of  which  are  ever  trephined.  I am  able, 
through  the  kindness  of  Doctor  George  F.  Eaton  of  Yale  University 
to  show  a radiograph  (Plate  XCIX)  of  such  an  ancient  Peruvian  skull. 
What  the  lesion  is  due  to  is  uncertain,  but  it  is  fairly  common. 

DISEASES  or  THE  TEETH 

Little  is  known  of  the  diseases  of  the  teeth  of  the  ancient  Peruvians, 
since  there  have  been  few  studies  made  on  them.  Dental  practices 
were  probably  not  developed  among  these  early  peoples,  although 
certain  dental  procedures,  though  not  for  therapeutic  purposes,  have 
been  described  by  Van  Rippen,^®  basing  his  deduction  on  the  collections 
at  Harvard  University.  He  established  the  fact  that  the  Maya  people 
of  Central  America  and  the  primitive  races  of  Ecuador  were  the  first 
to  prepare  cavities  in  living  teeth  and  insert  inlays  made  to  fit  the 
cavities,  without  having  any  prophylactic  measures  in  \dew.  It  was 
probably  an  attempt  to  beautify  the  semi-savage  countenance.  Thoma, 
also,  studied  a number  of  ancient  Peruvian  skeletons  preserved  in  the 
Harvard  collections,  and  was  able  to  show  the  presence  of  dental  dis- 
turbances, such  as  abscesses  of  the  jaws,  cleft  palate  and  hare  lip. 

The  presence  of  syphilis  among  an}'  of  the  pre-Columbian  races  of 
the  Western  Hemisphere  is  one  of  the  unsettled  questions  in  the  paleo- 
pathology of  the  early  human  races  and  I want  to  present  here  a few 
of  the  evidences  on  which  the  statements  that  it  was  present,  and  there 
are  many  scientific  men  who  do  think  so,  have  been  based.  Doctor 
George  F.  Eaton-^  who  accompanied  the  Yale  University  Expedition 
to  Peru  to  excavate  the  lost  city  of  Machu  Picchu  has  described  the 
skull  of  a child,  seven  years  of  age  (Fig.  b,  Plate  CII),  showing  on  the 
frontal  bone  a deep  penetrating  sinus  which  perforated  the  inner  table 
of  the  skull  and  the  child  doubtless  perished  from  an  infection  (s}*ph- 
ilitic?)  of  the  meninges.  It  seems  to  me,  how’ever,  that  there  is  no 
reason  why  syphilis  is  involved  in  the  question  of  this  skull,^’®  since  the 
sinus  may  well  have  developed  from  a traumatism,  resulting  in  a con- 
dition similar  to  that  seen  in  chronic  traumatic  osteomyehtis. 

-®B.  Van  Rippen;  Pre-Columbian  Operative  Dentistry’  of  the  Indians  of  Middle  and 
South  America.  Dental  Cosmos,  Sept.  1917,  1-15,  17  figs. 

” The  Collection  of  Osteological  Material  from  Machu  Picchu.  Memoirs  of  the  Con- 
necticut Academy  of  Sciences.  V,  pi.  xxiii,  fig.  1-2,  1916. 

Thulid,  M.,  1877.  Sur  la  deformation  sj-philitique  du  crine.  Bull.de  la  Soc.d’Anthrop 
de  Paris,  2nd  ser.,  .xii,  459-460. 


PATHOLOGY  OF  THE  ANCIENT  PERUVIANS 


493 


A saber-blade  deformation  of  the  tibia  has  often  been  said  to  be  due 
jto  syphilis  and  I figure  here  (Plate  C)  an  ancient  Peruvian  tibia  show- 
jing  this  deformity.  But  unless  the  one  who  makes  the  diagnosis  is 
capable  of  distinguishing  between  a pathological  and  a morphological 
condition  his  conclusions  are  of  little  value.  Platycnemia  is  a well 
established  fact  in  anthropology  and  is  of  considerable  importance 
and  this  has  often  been  confused  by  medical  men,  ignorant  of  anthropol- 
ogy, with  a pathological  condition.  A flattened  tibia  is  not  at  all 
'significant  of  syphilis,  by  itself.  Unless  accompanied  by  other  phenom- 
ena it  is  useless  as  a diagnosis.  Hutchinson’s  teeth,  once  thought  to 
be  positively  diagnostic  of  congenital  syphilis,  we  now  know  to  be  a 
result  of  malnutrition.  The  tubercle  of  CarabellP*  has  often  been  cited 
as  a true  diagnostic  character  of  congenital  syphilis  and  I have  shown 
that  this  character  is  an  inheritance  from  man’s  fossil  forebears.  A 
variety  of  phenomena  then  have  been  regarded  as  syphilitic  in  nature, 
iso  that  one  is  tempted  to  say  that  when  one  meets  an  unknown  condi- 
tion it  seems  easiest  to  say:  “Why,  that’s  syphilitic,”  which  it  may  or 
'may  not  be,  and  probably  the  latter. 

i The  presence  of  an  intense  catarrhal  condition  of  the  sinuses  of  the 
face,  pansinusitis,  is  indicated  by  a skull  (Fig.  d,  Plate  CII),  preserved 
in  the  American  Museum  of  Natural  History,  which  shows  in  the  fore- 
head an  enormous  fistula  from  which  there  had  been  for  years  a chronic 
suppuration.  Through  this  fistula  one  may  run  a probe  into  nearly  all 
the  Sinus  paranasals  and  it  certainly  was  an  intense  infection.  The 
fistula  is  lipped  as  if  an  operculum  of  some  substance  had  fitted  into 
it,  and  the  frontal  bones  and  nasal  bridge  are  greatly  roughened. 

I In  the  collections  at  Yale  University  there  is  a skeleton  which  is 
extremely  light  and  fragile.  The  bones  are  of  a pale  yellow  color  and  the 
.walls  of  the  bones  are  so  extremely  thin  that  one  can  run  a pin  into  the 
leg  bones.  Without  a more  detailed  study  of  this  specimen  it  would,  of 
bourse,  be  hasty  to  conclude  as  to  its  nature,  but  it  suggests  a nutritional 
disturbance  similar  to  that  seen  in  osteomalacia.  Other  nutritional 
disturbances  are  seen  in  the  porosities  of  the  skulls  (Plates  CXV  and 
CXVI),  frequently  in  children.  Often  these  osteoporosities  are  paired, 
in  the  roof  of  the  orbit,  on  the  frontal,  parietal  and  elsewhere. 

^ Occasional  osteomata  are  met  with  (Plate  XCVIII),  occurring 
usually  on  the  frontal,  always  single,  never  very  large,  and  always 

^*Tlie  Tubercle  of  Carabelli  and  Congenital  Sj'pbilis.  Annals  of  Medical  History,  I, 


494 


PALEOPATHOLOGY 


smooth,  dense  ivory-like  bodies  exactly  like  the  cranial  osteomata  seen 
today. 

The  surgical  implements  employed  by  the  ancient  Peruvian  sur- 
geon are  shown  herewith  (Plate  CVI).  How  these  instruments  were 
cleaned  is  uncertain.  They  may  have  wiped  them  on  their  dirty,  greasy, 
blankets  between  operations,  or  they  may  have  been  rather  cleanly. 
Judging  by  their  descendants  they  were  not.  They  knew  something  oi 
antiseptic  substances  as  shown  by  the  materials  wrapped  with  bodies, 
but  how  they  employed  these  in  surgery  is  not  known.  Their  surgical 
practices,  other  than  those  of  trephining  and  amputation  of  the  nose 
and  lip,  were  confined  to  amputations  such  as  that  shown  in  Figure  d, 
Plate  CXII. — Other  minor  operations  are  suggested  in  Figure  c,  Plate 
CXII. 

The  influence  of  climate  on  the  diseases  of  any  race  are  clearly 
established  by  the  work  of  recent  times,  but  we  do  not  yet  know  a great 
deal  about  climatic  influences  on  ancient  civilizations  although  Ells- 
worth Huntington^®  has  made  a great  beginning  on  this  subject. 

The  ancient  Peruvians  embalmed  their  dead,  though  they  did  not 
by  any  means  carry  their  embalming  methods  to  such  a great  degree 
of  perfection  as  did  the  ancient  Egyptians.  There  is  no  indication  that 
the  Peruvians  withdrew  any  of  the  viscera.  The  body  apparently  was 
always  wrapped  and  allowed  to  dry,  a very  convenient  method  and  one 
to  which  the  climate  was  especially  adapted.  The  bodies  were  kept 
in  chulpas  or  tombs,  caves  and  other  places  and  brought  forth  on  feast 
days.  When  the  vandals  began  destro^fing  the  ancient  tombs  in  their 
mad  search  for  gold,  the  mummies  of  course  were  thrown  aside,  and 
all  we  have  left  are  the  undiscovered  burial  places  and  w'hat  the  gold 
hunters  failed  to  destroy. 

Since  this  is  the  first  survey  of  the  paleopathology'  of  ancient  Peru 
which  has  ever  been  made  it  would  be  hasty  and  unwdse  to  attempt 
any  general  conclusions  as  to  the  source  of  the  diseases  indicated  by 
the  above  described  remains  and  of  their  influence  on  the  ci\*ilization 
and  life  of  the  people.  That  the  influence  was  at  times  great  is  evident 
since  many  of  the  above-mentioned  diseases  doubtless  spread  over 
the  country  at  times  in  epidemic  form.  There  are  certain  springs  in 
the  mountains  from  which  the  Indians  warn  the  rash  traveller  since 
they  say  they  are  the  source  of  Verruga.  The  unclean  habits  of  the 
modern  Indians  of  Peru  may  be  some  indication  of  the  unsanitary 
conditions  among  which  their  predecessors  lived. 

The  Climatic  Factor  as  illustrated  in  .\rid  .\merica.  Carnegie  Institution  of  Washing- 
ton. Publication  192,  1914.  Civilization  and  Climate,  New  Haven,  1915. 


PATHOLOGY  OF  THE  ANCIENT  PERUVIANS 


495 


DESCRIPTIONS  OF  FIGURES  46-49  AND  PLATES  XCVIII-CXVII 
ILLUSTRATING  CHAPTER  XV 


496 


PALEOPATHOLOGY 


Figure  46 

Map  of  that  portion  of  South  America  inhabited  in  ancient  times  by  the 
peoples  subject  to  the  rule  of  the  Inca  princes.  The  region  is  all  very  mountainous. 
(From  Sir  Clements  Markham.) 


Figure  46 


PATHOLOGY  OF  THE  ANCIENT  PERUVIANS  ^ ; 497 


M: 


FIGURE  47 


498 


PALEOPATHOLOGY 


Figure  47 

Face  of  a west  African  negro  showing  lesion  of  goundou,  for  comparison  with 
the  countenance  depicted  in  the  ancient  Peruvian  water  jars  (Plates  CXI  and 
CXII).  (After  Castellani.) 


Figure  47 


PATHOLOGY  OF  THE  ANCIENT  PERUVIANS 


499 


FIGURE  48 


500 


PALEOPATHOLOGY 


Figure  48 

Map  of  the  northern  part  of  South  America  and  the  southern  part  of  North 
America  showing  the  distribution  of  Indian  tribes,  locations  where  important 
paleopathologic  objects  have  been  found  and  the  distribution  and  relations  of 
areas  where  trephining  has  taken  place.  Compare  the  distribution  of  trephining 
shown  in  Figure  29,  Chapter  XII. 


Figure  48 


PATHOLOGY  OF  TEE  ANCIENT  PERUVIANS 


501 


■ /. 


u . • ‘’-Vk'  . . 

■ /V-.!*-  r 


FIGURE  49 


502 


PALEOPATHOLOGY 


Figure  49 

The  pre-Columbian  (possibly  five  hundred  years  old)  female  skuU  from  Ama- 
zonas, Peru,  showing  a variant  of  the  Sincipital  T (shown  in  A).  The  cauterization 
must  have  been  very  intense,  since  great  osseous  ridges  have  developed  along  the 
lines  of  the  incisions  (shown  in  detail  cross-section  in  B).  The  skull  is  the  property 
of  the  American  Museum  of  Natural  History.  Photographs  of  this  skull  are  shown 
in  Plate  CIV  and  photomicrographs  of  pathologic  bone  in  Plate  CV. 


f 


I 

i 

I 


Figure  49 


PATHOLOGY  OF  THE  ANCIENT  PERUVIANS 


503 


PLATE  XCVIII 


S' 


504 


PALEOPATHOLOGY 


PLATE  XCVm 

Left.  Ancient  Peruvian  skull  from  Ancon  showing  temporal  osteoma.  Capac- 
ity of  skull  1105  cc.  No.  7214,  Peabody  Museum  of  Harvard  University. 

Right.  Lateral  view  of  pelvis  of  Peruvian  showing  effects  of  luxation  of  femur 
and  formation  of  new  acetabulum.  No.  13448,  Peabody  Museum  of  Har\^ard 
University. 


■L. 

PATHOLOGY  OF  THE  ANCIENT  PERUVIANS 


W 


PLATE  XCIX 


506 


PALEOPATHOLOGY 


PLATE  XCIX 

Skiagram  by  Doctor  Eaton  of  an  adult  female  skull  from  a cave  near  Machu 
Picchu,  Peru,  showing  a healed  lesion  in  the  right  parietal  eminence. 


Plate  XCIX 


PATHOLOGY  OF  THE  ANCIENT  PERUVIANS 


507 


PLATE  C 


508 


PALEOPATHOLOGY 


PLATE  C 

a and  b.  Normal  right  tibia  of  a young  male  Peruvian  from  a cave  near  Machu 
Picchu  compared  to  a pathological  (B)  syphilitic?  left  tibia  of  same.  After  Eaton. 
c and  d.  Skiagraphs  of  above  described  tibiae.  After  Eaton. 


Plate  C 


509 


510 


PALEOPATHOLOGY 


PLATE  Cl 

1.  Right  femur  of  an  adult,  female,  pre-Columbian  Indian  found  in  a cave  of 
the  Machu  Picchu  region,  Peru.  The  bone  appears  free  from  disease  and  is  pub- 
lished for  comparison  with  the  next  femur.  About  1400  a.  d.  (After  Eaton.) 

2.  Left  femur  of  the  same  skeleton,  showing  extensive  sj^philitic  periostitis. 
The  fracture  was  produced  after  the  bone  was  found.  (After  Eaton.) 

3.  4.  Skiagrams  of  the  right  and  left  femora  of  the  same  skeleton,  antero- 
posterior view.  (After  Eaton.) 


Plate  CI 


PATHOLOGY  OF  THE  ANCIENT  PERUVIANS 


5il 


PLATE  Cl  I 


512 


PALEOPATHOLOGY 


PLATE  CU 

a.  Photograph  of  a patient  in  an  advanced  stage  of  the  uta  disease,  for  compari- 
son with  the  features  depicted  in  the  ancient  water  Jars.  (After  Tamayo.) 

b.  Skull  of  a child,  seven  years  of  age,  from  a cave  near  Machu  Picchu,  Peru, 
presenting  necrosis  (syphilitic)  of  the  frontal  bones,  and  an  abnormal  condition  of 
the  metopic  suture.  The  black  spot  above  the  sinus  is  where  the  skull  had  been 
charred  by  fire  and  the  opening  on  the  coronal  suture  is  a post  mortem  fracture. 
(After  Eaton.) 

c.  Skull  of  an  ancient  Peruvian,  the  bones  of  which  show  the  influence  of  uta 
around  the  nasal  region.  Indicated  in  the  depressed  nasal  bones.  (After  Tello, 
who  ascribes  the  lesions  to  syphilis.) 

d.  An  ancient  Peruvian  skull  collected  by  Bandelier  at  Chimbote,  Peru,  show- 
ing in  the  frontal  fistula  evidences  of  bilateral  pansinusitis  of  long  standing.  The 
fistula  opens  directly  into  the  nasal  chamber,  through  the  frontal  sinuses.  Below 
the  fistula  the  surface  of  the  bone  is  quite  carious,  possibly  caused  by  the  pus  flow- 
ing out  over  a number  of  years.  Original  in  the  American  Museum  of  Natural 
History.  Courtesy  of  Mr.  C.  W.  Mead. 


Plate  CII 


PATHOLOGY  OF  THE  ANCIENT  PERUVIANS 


513 


PLATE  cm 


514 


PALEOPATHOLOGY 


PLATE  cm 

ANCIENT  PERUVIAN  PATHOLOGY 

a.  Skull  of  a young  woman,  about  17  years  old,  showing  extreme  Aymara  or 
highland  deformation.  Lateral  view.  From  a cave  near  Machu  Picchu.  (.After 
Eaton.) 

b.  Basal  view  of  an  adult  male  (?)  skull  from  a cave  near  Machu  Picchu,  Peru, 
showing  partial  fusion  of  the  atlas  and  the  occipital  bone.  (After  Eaton.)  This 
condition  has  been  ascribed  by  some  students  to  the  effects  of  spondylitis  deformans, 
but  there  are  some  grounds  for  believing  it  to  be  a morphological  and  not  a patho- 
logical condition. 


Plate  CIII 


PATHOLOGY  OF  THE  ANCIENT  PERUVIANS 


515 


PLATE  CIV 


516 


PALEOPATHOLOGY 


PLATE  av 

ANCIENT  PERUVIAN  PATHOLOGY 

A pre-Columbian  female  skull  from  Peru  showing  the  effects  of  the  cautery 
(see  figure  49).  Photomicrographs  from  this  skull  are  shown  in  Plate  CV.  Original 
in  American  Museum  of  Natural  History. 

a.  Lateral  view. 

b.  Occipital  view. 


Plate  CR' 


PATHOLOGY  OF  THE  ANCIENT  PERUVIANS 


517 


PLATE  CV 


518 


PALEOPATHOLOGY 


PLATE  CV 

a.  Photomicrograph  of  outer  table  of  ancient  Peruvian  female  skull  shown 
Plate  CIV,  indicating  the  dense  aggregations  of  osseous  lacunae.  X 200. 

b.  The  hypertrophied  diploe  of  the  parietal  of  same  skull.  X 200. 


Plate  CV 


i 


t: 


4-'r, 

r 


V 'w  . 

v.f 


$ 


''■I 


PATHOLOGY  OF  THE  ANCIENT  PERUVIANS 


519 


PLATE  CVI 


52f) 


PALEOPATHOLOGY 


PLATE  CVI 

Primitive  surgical  instruments  of  obsidian  and  metal  (copper  or  bronze), 
doubtless  used  by  the  prehistoric  Peruvian  surgeons  in  performing  the  operations 
of  trephining,  amputation  and  incisions  of  all  kinds.  The  instruments  are  well 
adapted  to  the  various  procedures  involved:  cutting,  sawing,  scraping,  and  boring. 
Collected  in  the  highlands  of  Peru,  150  miles  from  the  coast  by  Ales  Hrdlicka. 
a-b-c  knife-like  instruments  which  were  doubtless  quite  effective  and  easily  steri- 
lized. d-  a boring  instrument,  slightly  injured,  g-h  bronze  or  copper  instruments  to 
which  a haft  of  wood  was  fitted  and  tied  with  thongs.  Originals  in  the  United 
States  National  Museum.  Photograph  from  the  Smithsonian  Institution. 


i 


Plate  CVI 


PATHOLOGY  OF  THE  ANCIENT  PERUVIANS 


f ' 

Si'.  ■ 


1^.^"  ^ ■■■■  -•  - ■ 


PLATE  evil 


522 


PALEOPATHOLOGY 


PLATE  evil 

ANCIENT  PERUVIAN  SURGERY 

a.  A reconstructed  prehistoric  surgical  operation,  shown  also  in  the  Frontis- 
piece. Doubtless  a scene  like  this  ensued  at  the  prehistoric  trephinings. 

h.  Occipital  view  of  a pre-Columbian  skull  from  Peru  showing  a large  trephine 
opening  on  the  right  lambdoid  suture.  A wide  depressed  area  around  the  trephine 
opening  indicates  the  area  denuded  by  scraping.  The  wound  had  healed  well  as 
may  be  seen  bj'  a close  examination  of  the  photograph.  This  picture  shows  espe- 
cially well  the  effects  of  trephining  by  the  process  of  scraping.  Collected  in  the 
highlands  of  Peru  within  150  miles  of  the  coast  by  Ale§  Hrdlicka.  Original  in  the 
United  States  National  Museum.  Photograph  from  Smithsonian  Institution. 


Plate  CVII 


PATHOLOGY  OF  THE  ANCIENT  PERUVIANS 


PLATE  CVIII 


524 


PALEOPATHOLOGY 


PLATE  CVIII 

ANCIENT  PERXrVTAN  PATHOLOGY 

a.  A very  unusual  ancient  Peruvian  skull  showing  five  trephine  openings,  two 
of  them  incomplete  or  healed  over  after  once  being  completed.  Edmundo  Escomel, 
of  Arequipa,  Peru,  who  described  this  skull  and  from  whose  photographs  the  draw- 
ing is  made,  says:  “There  are  on  this  skull  three  series  of  trepanations  in  different 
stages  of  repair.”  It  will  be  noted  that  the  incompleted  or  healed  openings  show  no 
evidences  of  a drilled  margin,  but  they  appear  to  have  been  done  by  cutting  and 
scraping. 

h.  A scheme  on  a modern  skull  outlining  the  hypothetic  placing  of  borings  as 
devised  by  Lucas-Championniere. 

c.  The  rondelle  or  plaque  of  bone  removed. 

d.  The  crenated  margins  removed  by  chiselling,  with  the  resrdt  so  commonly 
seen  in  prehistoric  trephined  skulls,  (b,  c and  d after  Lucas-Championniere.) 


Plate  CVIII 


PATHOLOGY  OF  THE  ANCIENT  PERUVIANS 


PLATE  CIX 


■;  ■ ; L 


IT'" 


526 


PALEOPATHOLOGY 


PLATE  CIX 

ANCIENT  PERUVIAN  PATHOLOGY 

a.  Skull  of  a Peruvian  mummy  showing  an  unusual  type  of  trepanation.  On 
the  basis  of  this  skull  Dr.  Lucas-Championniere  devised  the  scheme  of  prehistoric 
trepanation  shown  in  figures  b,  c and  d Plate  CVIII.  The  original  mummy  is  in 
the  Musee  du  Trocadero,  Paris.  When  discovered  the  skin  covered  the  trephine 
opening  like  an  operculum.  This  is  the  only  example  known  of  an  ancient  Peru- 
vian skull  with  this  type  of  trephined  opening.  (Drawn  from  a photograph  by 
Professor  Verneau,  After  Lucas-Championniere.) 

b.  A pre-Columbian  skull  from  Peru  showing  a trephine  opening  in  the  frontal 
bone,  and  exhibiting  the  extent  to  which  the  operation  was  often  carried.  The 
patient  apparently  survived  the  operations  which  resulted  in  such  an  enormous 
injury,  since  the  margins  of  the  opening  show  signs  of  healing,  indicating  by  the 
smooth  margins  of  the  lesion  the  growth  of  new  bone.  Original  in  the  American 
Museum  of  Natural  History.  Courtesy  of  Mr.  C.  W.  Mead. 

c.  A pre-Columbian  Indian  skuU  from  Peru,  showing  effects  of  process  of  tre- 
phining by  scraping  a wide  area,  indicated  by  the  flat  surface  on  the  frontal  bone, 
which  has  been  denuded  in  the  process.  The  opening  was  made  near  the  left  mar- 
gin. The  region  apparently  became  septic  for  the  bridge  of  the  nose  shows  consider- 
able hyperplasia.  The  individual  doubtless  survived  the  operation  a long  time  for 
the  margins  of  the  opening  are  healed  over.  Collected  in  the  central  mountainous 
part  of  Peru  within  150  miles  of  the  coast  by  Dr.  Ale§  Hrdlicka.  Original  in  the 
U.  S.  National  Museum. 

d.  The  Famous  Squier’s  Trephined  Skull  from  Peru.  Original  in  the  American 
Museum  of  Natural  History. 

This  is  the  skuU  that  first  let  the  world  know  that  this  operation  was  done  m 
prehistoric  Peru — described  by  Squiers. 

Extract  of  a paper  presented  by  M.  Broca  to  the  Anthropological  Society  of 
Paris.  Trans,  by  Mr.  C.  W.  Mead. 

“Walls  of  skull  are  very  thick,  and  it  presents  characteristics  which  could 
only  belong  to  an  Indian  of  Peru  and  I shall  proceed  to  show  that  the  trepanning 
was  practiced  during  life. 

“Upon  the  left  side  of  the  external  plate  of  the  frontal  bone  there  is  a large 
white  spot  slightly  elliptical,  42  mm.  long  and  47  broad.  The  outlines  of  this  spot 
are  not  irregular  or  sinuous.  The  surface  is  smooth  and  presents  the  appearance  of 
an  entirely  normal  bone.  Around  this,  to  the  edges,  the  general  color  of  the  skull 
is  notably  browner,  and  is  perforated  by  a great  number  of  small  holes,  caused  by 
dilapidation  of  the  canaliculi.  The  line  of  demarkation  between  the  smooth  and 
cribriform  surfaces  is  abrupt,  and  it  is  perfectly  certain  that  the  smooth  surface 
has  been  denuded  of  its  periosteum  several  days  before  death.  It  is  thus,  in  truth, 
that  denudations  of  the  cranium  behave.  In  the  denuded  points,  the  superficial 
layer  of  the  external  table,  deprived  of  vessels,  and  thus  deprived  of  life,  undergoes 
no  change,  and  preserves  the  normal  structure;  while  the  surrounding  parts  in  un- 
dergoing the  effects  of  traumatic  inflammation,  become  the  seat  of  the  osteitis. 

“After  considering  the  development  of  the  perforations  (porosites)  of  the 
external  table  of  the  denuded  surface,  it  seems  to  me  impossible  to  admit  that  the 
subject  could  have  survived  the  denudation  less  than  7 or  8 days.’’ 

M.  Nelaton  who  examined  the  specimen  thinks  he  may  have  survived  fifteen 
days. 


Plate  CIX 


I 

I 


iMin 


PATHOLOGY  OF  THE  ANCIENT  PERUVIANS 


527 


I 


« 


528 


PALEOPATHOLOGY 


PLATE  CX 

ANCIENT  PERUVIAN  PATHOLOGY 

a.  An  ancient  pre-Columbian  water  jar  from  Peru,  showing  in  the  features 
there  depicted  the  possible  effects  of  surgical  interference  in  the  removal  of  the 
upper  lip  in  an  attempt  to  arrest  the  progress  of  the  disease  known  as  Uta.  Origi- 
nal in  the  American  Museum  of  Natural  History. 

b.  An  ancient  Peruvian  skull  exhibiting  an  Aymara  type  of  deformation, 
caused  by  binding  the  head  of  the  individual  while  young.  He  had  suffered  a trans- 
verse fracture  involving  the  coronal  suture,  for  the  relief  of  which  the  skull  had  been 
unsuccessfully  trephined.  Original  in  the  American  Museum  of  Natural  History. 


Plate  CX 


PATHOLOGY  OF  THE  ANCIENT  PERUVIANS 


529 


Ai. 


''•i'r': 


:^?- 


PLATE  CXI 

' V(t>  i'  :'-f  ; - 3 >-  . . ^ 

-0^i0»!h;^hx^-’  i’-i 

j'-h  . 

■ r,<~ 

■'f;T  ' 

... 

1 ■ -'.  -:■ 

;'r’'.;':^vi'^  ''' 

i 

*«/•■.-■■ 

' % ' ■ V’  ' ' 

530 


PALEOPATHOLOGY 


PLATE  CXI 

a.  An  ancient  Peruvian  water  jar  from  Chimbote,  Peru,  collected  by  Bandelier, 
showing  a swelling  at  the  base  of  the  nose  characteristic  of  goundou  of  the  present 
day,  a disease  prevalent  in  Africa  and  Malaysia.  Original  in  the  American  Museum 
of  Natural  History  through  whose  courtesy  the  photograph  is  published. 

b,  c,  d,  e,f.  Ancient  Peruvian  water  jars  from  Peru.  The  artist  doubtless  had 
as  models  Indians  afflicted  with  Uta  or  Leishmaniasis,  a disease  very  prevalent  in 
Peru  today.  The  disease  has  eaten  away  the  upper  lip,  exposing  the  teeth,  and  the 
nasal  cartilages  are  partly  destroyed.  Original  in  the  American  Museum  of  Natural 
History.  Photograph  from  Mr.  C.  W.  Mead. 


Plate  CXI 


PATHOLOGY  OF  THE  ANCIENT  PERUVIANS 


531 


532 


PALEOPA  TIIOLOGY 


PLATE  CXII 

a.  Small  water  jar  representation  of  an  achondroplastic  dwarf  on  whose  body 
are  seen  the  nodular  eruptions  of  verruga.  After  Ashmead. 

h.  Evidence  of  gondou  in  ancient  Peru. 

c.  These  ancient  Peruvian  water  jars  show  the  seated  figures  examining  the 
soles  of  their  feet,  in  which  there  are  holes  left  after  taking  out  the  egg  sacs  of  the 
sand  flea  “nigua.”  Original  in  American  Museum  of  Natural  History. 

d.  An  example  of  ancient  Peruvian  pottery  showing  an  amputated  leg,  at  the 
tibio-tarsal  junction,  with  a cap  of  painted  bone,  or  wood  or  metal,  in  the  right  hand 
of  the  figure  to  adjust  to  the  stump  of  the  leg.  Collected  at  Chimbote,  Peru,  by 
Bandelier.  Original  in  American  Museum  of  Natural  History. 


Plate  CXII 


PATHOLOGY  OF  THE  ANCIENT  PERUVIANS 


533 


PLATE  CXIII 


534 


PALEOPATHOLOGY 


N 


PLATE  CXIU 

Arthritis  deformans  of  the  Hip-joint  among  the  ancient  Peruvians.  Pelvic 
bone  and  Femur  on  right  from  one  subject.  Femur  on  left  shows  early  Stage  of 
Alterations;  that  in  middle  represents  a very  advanced  case  of  flat  “Mushroom- 
head,”  that  on  right  a pronounced  Caput  penis  condition.  .All  from  the  Chimu 
Region,  Peru.  (After  Hrdlicka.) 


Plate  CXIII 


PATHOLOGY  OF  TEE  ANCIENT  PERUVIANS 


535 


PLATE  CXIV 


53(5 


PALEOPATHOLOGY 


PLATE  CXIV 

A skull  with  an  excessive  and  peculiar  fronto-occipital  or  “flat-head”  defor- 
mation, from  Chavina,  on  the  Rio  de  Acari,  Peru.  (After  Hrdlicka.) 


Plate  CXIV 


PATHOWGY  OF  THE  ANCIENT  PERUVIANS 


537 


PLATE  CXV 


538 


PALEOPATHOLOGY 


PLATE  CXV 

Adult  pre-Columbian  Peruvian  male  skull  from  the  vaUey  of  the  Chicama, 
showing  recovery  from  and  the  remains  of  symmetric  osteoporosis  in  infanc}'. 
(After  Hrdlicka.) 


Plate  CXV 


PATHOLOGY  OF  THE  ANCIENT  PERUVIANS 


539 


m: 


Wif. 


■jVf.'N-  \.v"r 


0%fiiM'\%:\i!{.-:- 

' -J-*'  '• 

.... 


PLATE  CXVI 


''■  v;.;'.  w 


- -•-.'’r-VlVi'. 


X-^A' 


m: 


iA;,-.' 


^s;A, 


..■*  •' . 


540 


PA  LEOPA  T HO  LOG  Y 


PLATE  CXVI 

Parts  of  three  Skulls  of  Infants,  showing  Lesions  of  symmetric  Osteoporosis. 
The  middle  Skull  is  from  an  ancient  Burial  near  Huacho,  Peru,  while  the  two 
Frontals  on  Sides  are  from  prehistoric  Pueblo  Cemeteries  in  Arizona.  (After  Hrd- 
licka.) 


Plate  CXVI 


PATHOLOGY  OF  THE  ANCIENT  PERUVIANS 


541 


PLATE  CXVII 


542 


PALEOPATHOLOGY 


PLATE  CXVII 

Left.  Humerus  of  Orang  with  pathological  lower  end.  Peabody  Museum  of 
Harvard  University. 

Right.  Lumbar  and  sacral  vertebrae  of  a Peruvian  Indian,  anterior  view  show- 
ing spondylitis  deformans.  No.  59444,  Peabody  Museum  of  Harvard  University. 


Plate  CXVII 


BIBLIOGRAPHY 


543 


BIBLIOGRAPHY 


1' 


■i 


BIBLIOGRAPHY 


This  Bibliography  contains  only  references  to  paleopathology, 
incidental  references,  not  bearing  directly  on  actual  descriptions  of 
ancient  lesions,  are  given  in  footnotes  throughout  the  text.  The  form 
of  the  references  throughout  the  book  have  been  made  to  conform,  as 
far  as  possible,  to  the  “Alphabetical  List  of  Abbreviations  of  Titles  of 
Medical  Periodicals  employed  in  the  Index- Catalogue  of  the  Library 
of  the  Surgeon  General’s  Office,  United  States  Army,”  1916,  and  to 
the  “Suggestions  to  Authors  of  Papers  submitted  for  Publication  by 
the  United  States  Geological  Survey,”  1916. 

Abel,  0. 

1912  Grundziige  der  Palasobiologie  der  Wirbeltiere.  Stuttgart,  8vo.  Spuren 
von  Kampfen,  88-91.  Knochenerkrankungen,  91-95. 

Auer,  E. 

1909  Ueber  einige  Krokodile  der  Juraformation.  Palseontographica,  Iv,  217- 
294,  4 pis. 

Bandelier,  a.  F. 

1904  Aboriginal  Trephining  in  Bolivia.  Amer.  Anthrop.,  vi,  440-446. 

Barrell,  Joseph 

1917  Rhythms  and  the  Measurements  of  Geologic  Time.  BuU.  Geol.  Soc.  Am., 
xxviii,  745-904,  3 pis. 

Bartels,  Paul 

1907  Tuberkulose  (Wirbelkaries)  in  der  Jiingeren  Steinheit.  Archiv  f.  Anthrop., 
N.  F.,  vi,  243-255. 

Bassler,  Ray  S. 

1908  The  Formation  of  Geodes  with  Remarks  on  the  Silification  of  Fossils. 
Proc.  U.  S.  Nat.  Mus.,  Wash.,  xxxv,  133-154,  6 pis. 

Batujeff,  N. 

1896  Carabelli’s  Hockerchen  und  andere  unbestandige  Hocker  der  oberen  Mahl- 
zahne  bei  dem  Menschen  und  Affen.  Bull.  Acad.  imp.  Sc.,  St.  Pgtersburg, 
V,  93-109. 

Beecher,  C.  E. 

1884  Some  abnormal  and  pathologic  Forms  of  fresh-water  shells  from  the  vicinity 
of  Albany,  N.  Y.,  36th  Ann.  Rpt.,  N.  Y.  State  Mus.  Nat.  Hist.,  51-55,  2 pis. 

1901  Origin  and  Significance  of  Spines.  In  “Studies  in  Evolution,”  N.  Y.,  8vo, 
3-108. 

1902  The  Reconstruction  of  a Cretaceous  Dinosaur,  Claosaurus  annectens.  Tr. 
Connect.  Acad.  Arts  & Sc.,  N.  Haven,  xi,  322,  pi.  44,  fig.  1. 


545 


:46 


PALEOPA THOLOGY 


Berry,  Edward  W. 

1916  Remarkable  fossil  Fungi.  Mycologia,  viii,  73-78,  2 pis. 

Bloch,  Iwan 

1911  Die  Knochenfunde  aus  prahistorischer  und  pracolumbischer  Zeit.  In 
“Der  Ursprung  der  Syphilis.  Eine  medizinische  und  kulturgeschichtliche 
Untersuchung.”  Abth.  ii,  317-364. 

Brandt,  J.  F. 

1873  Untersuchung  iiber  die  fossilen  und  subfossilen  Cetaceen  Europas.  Mem. 
Acad.  St.  Petersburg,  xx,  no.  i. 

Breasted,  J.  H. 

1909  History  of  Egypt,  597-601. 

1916  Ancient  Times.  A History  of  the  early  World,  Boston,  18,  fig.  12;  29,  fig. 
19. 

Bruhl,  Gustavus 

1880  On  the  pre-Columbian  Existence  of  Syphilis  in  America.  Cincin.  Lancet- 
Clinic,  May  29;  March  8,  1890. 

Buckland,  William 

1823  Reliquiae  Diluvianae;  or.  Observations  on  the  Organic  Remains  contained 
in  Caves,  Fissures,  and  Diluvial  Gravel,  and  on  Other  Geological  Phe- 
nomena, attesting  the  Action  of  an  Universal  Deluge.  London,  4to. 

1837  Geology  and  Mineralogy  considered  with  Reference  to  Natural  Theologjn 
Treatise  VI  of  the  Bridgewater  Treatises  on  the  Power,  Wisdom  and  Good- 
ness of  God  as  manifested  in  the  Creation.  2 vols.  Philadelphia,  8vo. 

Buxton,  L.  H.  D. 

See  Ray,  M.  B.  and  Buxton,  L.  H.  D.,  1914. 

Case,  E.  C. 

1915  The  Permo-Carboniferous  Red  Beds  of  North  America  and  their  Vertebrate 
Fauna.  Carnegie  Inst.  Wash.,  Pub.,  207,  141. 

Clark,  A.  H. 

Some  Cases  of  abnormal  arm  structure  in  recent  Crinoids.  Proc.  U.  S.  Nat. 
Mus.,  Wash.,  xxxiv,  256-270,  figs.  1-5. 

Clarke,  John  M. 

1908  The  Beginnings  of  Dependent  Life.  N.  Y.  State  Educ.  Dept.,  1-28,  13  pis. 
1911  Early  Parasitism.  Science  N.  S.,  xxxiii,  284-296. 

1921  Organic  Dependence  and  Disease:  Their  Origin  and  Significance,  pp.  1-113; 
figs.  1-105.  New  Haven,  8°. 

Clarke,  J.  W.  and  Newton,  E., 

See  Newton,  E.  and  Clarke,  J.  W.,  1879. 

Clift,  William 

1823  On  some  fossil  bones  discovered  in  caverns  in  the  Limestone  Quarries  of 
Oreston.  Phil.  Tr.  Roy.  Soc.  Lond.,  pi.  8,  figs.  1,  2,  3. 

COTTE,  J.  ET  C.  p 

1916  Note  sur  I’etat  de  conservation  de  restes  organises  datant  de  I’epoque  6n6o- 
lithique.  Compt.  rend.  Soc.  de  biol.  Par.,  Ixxix,  1003-1005. 


BIBLIOGRAPHY 


547 


Cuvier,  Georg 

1820  Recherches  sur  les  Ossemens  fossiles.  iv,  396  pi.  30,  figs.  6-7;  vii,  301,  pi.  25, 
fig.  94. 

Darwin,  Charles 

1897  The  Origin  of  Species  by  Means  of  Natural  Selection.  6th  Edition,  2 vols. 
De  Morgan,  J. 

1897  Recherches  sur  les  Origines  de  I’Egypte,  2 vols.,  Paris. 

Derry,  Douglas,  E. 

1907  Notes  on  Predynastic  Tibiae.  J.  Anat.  & Physiol.,  xli,  123. 

1913  A Case  of  Hydrocephalus  in  an  Egyptian  of  the  Roman  Period.  J.  Anat.  & 
I y Ph3^siol.,  xlvii,  pt.  iv,  436-458. 

^1  1914  Parietal  Perforation  accompanied  with  Flattening  of  the  Skull  in  an  ancient 
;'i|,  Egyptian.  J.  Anat.  & Physiol.,  xlviii,  417. 

j|  Duckworth,  W.  H.  L. 

I I*  1912  On  the  Natural  Repair  of  Fractures  as  seen  in  the  Skeletons  of  Anthropoid 
Apes.  J.  Anat.  & Physiol.,  xlvi,  81-85. 

Eaton,  George  F. 

? 1916  The  Collection  of  osteological  Material  from  Machu  Picchu.  Mem.  Connect. 

< Acad.  Arts  & Sc.,  N.  Haven,  v,  1-96,  39  pis. 

, Eccles,  R.  G. 

■ 1909  Parasitism  and  Natural  Selection.  A medical  Supplement  to  Darwin’s 

' Origin  of  Species.  Med.  Rec.,  N.  Y.,  July  31st. 

; Esper,  E.  j.  C. 

1774  Ausfuhrliche  Nachrichten  von  neuentdeckten  Zoolithen  unbekannter  vier- 
fiissiger  Thiere.  Niirnberg. 

Etheridge,  Robert 

1880  Observations  on  the  swollen  condition  of  Carboniferous  Crinoid  Stems. 
Proc.  Nat.  Hist.  Soc.,  Glasgow,  ix,  pt.  i,  19-36,  2 pis. 

Ferguson,  A.  R. 

See  Ruffer,  Sir  Marc  Armand,  1911 . 1. 

Fischer,  E. 

1913  Fossile  Hominiden.  Handworterbuch  der  Naturwissenschaften,  iv,  332. 

. Fleming,  George 

1871  Animal  Plagues,  their  History,  Nature  and  Prevention,  1. 

Fletcher,  Robert 

1 1882  On  prehistoric  trephining  and  cranial  amulets.  Contrib.  N.  A.  Ethnology, 

; Wash.,  V,  8,  pi.  hi. 

I'  Fouquet,  M. 

1;  Memoires  publics  par  les  membres  de  la  Societe  Archeologique  Franjaise 

L au  Caire,  sous  la  Direction  de  M.  Maspero.  (See  also  footnote  2,  Chapter 

i 

f,  Fowke,  Gerard 

I 1910  Antiquities  of  central  and  southeastern  Missouri.  Bur.  Am.  Ethnol.  Bull.  37. 


548 


PALEOPA THOLOGY 


Freeman,  Leonard 

1918  Primitive  Surgery  of  the  western  hemisphere.  J.  Am.  M.  Assoc.,  Chicago 
Ixx,  no.  7,  443. 

Garrison,  F.  H. 

1917.1  An  Introduction  to  the  History  of  Medicine,  Philadelphia.  Paleopathol- 
ogy, 50. 

1917.2  Memorial  Notice  of  Sir  Marc  Armand  Ruffer.  Ann.  Med.  Hist.,  N.  Y.,  i, 
no.  2,  218-220,  portrait. 

Gilmore,  Charles  W. 

1909  Osteology  of  the  Jurassic  Reptile,  Camptosaurus,  with  a Revision  of  the 
Species  of  the  Genus,  and  a Description  of  2 new  Species.  Proc.  U.  S.  Nat. 
Mus.,  Wash.,  xxxvi,  296. 

1912  The  mounted  Skeletons  of  Camptosaurus  in  the  United  States  National 
Museum.  Proc.  U.  S.  Nat.  Mus.,  Wash.,  xli,  689,  pis.  56,  58. 

1915  On  the  fore  limb  of  Allosaurus  fragilis.  Proc.  U.  S.  Nat.  Mus.,  Wash.,  xlix, 
504. 

Goldfuss,  August 

1810  Die  Umgebungen  von  Muggendorf.  Erlangen,  276. 

Graff,  L.  von 

1885  Ueber  einige  Deformitaten  an  fossilen  Crinoiden.  Palaeontographica,  xxxi, 
183-192,  1 pi. 

Hamburger,  Ove 

1911  Un  cas  de  paralysie  infantile  dans  I’antiquite.  Bull.  Soc.  frang.  d’hist.  de 
med..  Par.,  x,  407-409. 

Hatcher,  J.  B. 

1901  Diplodocus  Marsh,  its  Osteology,  Taxonomy,  and  probable  Habits,  with  a 
restoration  of  the  Skeleton.  Mem.  Carnegie  Mus.,  Pittsburg,  i,  36,  fig.  11. 
Oligocene  Canidae.  Mem.  Carnegie  Mus.,  Pittsburg,  i,  85,  pi.  19,  figs.  9,  11. 
1907  The  Ceratopsia.  U.  S.  Geol.  Surv.,  Wash.,  Monograph  xlix,  124.  (With 
0.  C.  Marsh  and  R.  S.  Lull.) 

Hecker,  j.  F.  C. 

1846  Epidemics  of  the  Middle  Ages,  181-353. 

Holland,  W.  J. 

The  Osteology  of  Diplodocus  Marsh.  Mem.  Carnegie  Mus.,  Pittsburg,  ii, 
255,  figs.  23,  24. 

Howorth,  Henry  H. 

1887  The  Mammoth  and  the  Flood:  an  Attempt  to  confront  the  Theory  of  Uni- 
formity with  the  Facts  of  recent  Geology,  London,  8vo. 

Hrdlicka,  Ales 

1899  Description  of  an  Ancient  Anomalous  Skeleton  from  the  Valley  of  Mexico, 
with  Special  Reference  to  Supernumerary  and  Bicipital  Ribs  in  Man.  Bull. 
Am.  Mus.  Nat.  Hist.,  N.  Y.,  xii,  5 pis. 

1908. 1 Phj^siological  and  Medical  Observations  among  the  Indians  of  southwest- 
ern United  States  and  northern  ISIexico.  Bur.  Am.  Ethnol.  Bull.  34. 

1908.2  Report  on  a Collection  of  Crania  from  Arkansas.  J.  Acad.  Nat.  Sc. 
Phila.,  xiii,  558-563. 


BIBLIOGRAPHY 


549 


1909 . 1 Tuberculosis  among  certain  Indian  Tribes  of  the  United  States.  Bur. 
Am.  Ethnol.  Bull.  42. 

1909.2  Report  on  an  additional  collection  of  skeletal  remains  from  Arkansas 
and  Louisiana.  J.  Acad.  Nat.  Sc.  Phila.,  xiv,  173-240,  9 figs. 

1911  Some  results  of  recent  anthropological  explorations  in  Peru.  Smithson. 
Misc.  Collect.,  Wash.,  Ivi,  1-16.  Bibliography  on  anthropology  of  Peru. 

1912.1  Report  on  skeletal  remains  from  a mound  on  Haley  Place,  near  Red 
River,  Miller  Co.,  Arkansas.  J.  Acad.  Nat.  Sc.  Phila.,  xiv,  639-640. 

1912.2  Early  Man  in  South  America.  Bur.  Am.  Ethnol.  Bull.  52  (with  Holmes, 
Willis,  Wright  and  Fenner). 

1913  A Report  on  a collection  of  Crania  and  Bones  from  Sorrel  Bayou,  Iberville 
Parish,  Louisiana.  J.  Acad.  Nat.  Sc.  Phila.,  xvi,  95-99. 

1914  Anthropological  Work  in  Peru  in  1913,  with  notes  on  the  Pathology  of  the 
ancient  Peruvians.  Smithson.  Misc.  Collect.,  Ixi,  no.  18,  1-69,  26  pis. 

1916  The  most  ancient  Skeletal  Remains  of  Man.  Smithson.  Rpt.,  for  1913, 
491-552,  pi.  4. 

Huene,  Friedrich  von 

1911  Beitrage  zur  Kenntnis  und  Beurteilung  der  Parasuchier.  Geol.  u.  Paleontol. 
Abhandl.,  Tubingen,  N.  F.,  x,  heft  1,  5,  pi.  1. 

Huxley,  T.  H. 

1862  Geological  Contemporaneity  and  Persistent  Types  of  Life.  Address  to 
Geological  Society.  Scientific  Memoirs,  ii,  90-93;  Proe.  Roy.  Inst.  Great 
Britain,  iii,  151-153,  1858. 

1869  Presidential  Address,  Geol.  Soc.  London,  Quart.  J.  Geol.  Soc.,  Lond.,  xxv, 
xxxviii-liii. 

Hyde,  J.  B. 

1891  A Contribution  to  the  Study  of  pre-Columbian  Syphilis  in  America.  Am. 
J.  M.  Sc.,  Phila.,  117-131. 

Jackson,  J.  Wilfrid 

1914  Dental  Mutilations  in  Neolithic  Human  Remains.  J.  Anat.  & Physiol., 
xlix,  72-79. 

Jeanselme,  E. 

1918  De  I’Existence  du  Tubercle  de  Carabelli  aux  Epoches  Paleolithique  et 
Neolithique  dans  I’Antiquite  Classique  et  au  Moyen  Age.  Bull,  et  mem.  d. 
Soc.  med.  d.  hop.  de  Par.,  34  Annee,  no.  1-2,  51-52.  Also  Bull.  Acad,  de 
Med.,  Paris,  1918,  3 s.,  Ixxix,  55-59.  (Rev:  Am.  J.  Physical  Anthrop., 
Wash.,  i,  no.  2,  239;  Ann.  Med.  Hist.,  N.  Y.,  1,  no.  4.) 

Jones,  F.  Wood 

1908.1  The  post-mortem  staining  of  bone  produced  by  the  ante-mortem  shed- 
ding of  blood.  Brit.  M.  J.,  Lond.,  i,  734-736. 

1908.2  The  Examination  of  the  Bodies  of  100  men  executed  in  Nubia  in  Roman 
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1910  VII.  General  Pathology,  including  Diseases  of  the  Teeth,  263-292.  VIII. 
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Nubia,”  1907-8,  ii,  49  pis.  See  Smith,  G.  Elliot,  1910.1. 

Keith,  Arthur 

1913  Abnormal  Crania-Achondroplastic  and  Acrocephalic.  J.  Anat.  & Physiol., 
xlvii,  189-206. 

1916  The  Antiquity  of  Man,  London,  21,  79,  118,  137. 


550 


PALEOPATHOLOGY 


Klebs,  Arnold  C. 

1917. 1 Palaeopathology.  Johns  Hopkins  Hosp.  Bull.,  Balt.,  xxviii,  261-266. 

1917.2  Palseopathology.  Boston  M.  & S.  J.,  clxxvi,  364-365. 

Lamb,  D.  S. 

1898  Pre-Columbian  Syphilis.  Proc.  Assn.  Am.  Anat.,  x,  63. 

Langdon,  F.  W. 

1881  The  MadisonviUe  prehistoric  cemetery,  anthropological  notes.  J.  Cincin. 
Soc.  Nat.  Hist.,  iii,  40-68;  128-139;  203-220;  iv,  250-253. 

Lapworth,  a.  and  Royle,  F.  A. 

1914  The  Lipoids  of  Ancient  Egyptian  Brains  and  the  nature  of  Cholesteryl 
Esters.  J.  Path.  & Bacteriol.,  xix,  474-477. 

Larcher,  O. 

Pathologie  comparee.  Dictionnaire  encyclopedique  des  Sciences  Medicales, 
xxi,  601-628. 

1911  De  I’extinction  des  especes  par  la  degen erescence  ou  maladie  des  rameaux 
phyletiques. 

Bull.  soc.  Hist.  Nat.  Haute  Marne.  I,  p.  49;  also  Bull.  Soc.  Geol.  France 
(4)  X,  631-533,  1910. 

Larger,  Ren£ 

1916.1  L’Acromegalie-Gigantisme,  cause  naturelle  de  la  degenerescence  et,  par- 
tant,  de  I’extinction  des  groupes  actuels  et  fossiles  (Read  3 fevrier,  1916,  but 
not  published). 

1916.2  La  centre  evolution  or  degenerescence  par  I’heredite  pathologique  cause 
naturelle  de  I’extinction  des  groupes  animaux.  Essai  de  paleopathologique 
generale  comparee.  Bull,  et  mem.  Soc.  d’anthrop.  de  Par.  1916. 

Le  Baron,  Jules 

1881.1  Lesions  osseuses  de  I’homme  prehistorique  en  France  et  an  Algerie.  Paris, 
1-118.  (These  pour  le  Doctoral  en  Medicine,  No.  262.)  » 

1881.  2 Sur  les  lesions  osseuses  prehistoriques.  Bull,  de  la  Soc.  d’Anthrop.  de 
Paris,  3;  serie.  IV,  597-598. 

Leidy,  Joseph 

1873  Contributions  to  the  extinct  Vertebrate  Fauna  of  the  western  territories. 
Washington,  U.  S.  Geol.  Surv.  Terr.,  208,  pi.  ii,  fig.  15. 

1886  Caries  in  the  Mastodon.  Proc.  Acad.  Nat.  Sc.  Phila.,  38. 

Lemiere,  L. 

1900  Transformation  des  vegetaux  en  combustibles  fossiles.  Essai  sur  le  role  des 
ferments.  Congres  geol.  internal,  de  1900,  Par.,  i,  502-520. 

Lortet,  L.  C. 

1903-1909  La  Eaune  momifiee  de  I’ancienne  Egypte.  Arch.  d.  Mus.  d’Hist. 
nat.  de  Lyon,  ix,  29,  (With  C.  Gaillard.) 

1911  La  Vie  et  les  Travaux  de  Louis  Charles  Lortet,  par  IM.  Claude  Gaillard. 
Arch.  d.  Mus.  d’Hist.  nat.  de  Lyon,  xi,  1-31,  portrait. 

Lucas,  E.  A. 

1901  The  Dinosaurs  or  Terrible  Lizards.  Smithson.  Rpt.,  1901,  645. 

Lull,  R.  S. 

1907  The  Ceratopsia.  U.  s.  Geol.  Surv.,  Wash.,  Monograph  xlix,  (With  J.  B. 
Hatcher  and  0.  C.  Marsh). 

1917  Organic  Evolution,  N.  Y.,  409-420. 


BIBLIOGRAPHY 


551 


Lyell,  Sir  Charles 

1867  Principles  of  Geology,  London,  2 vols,  10th  Ed. 

Mair,  W. 

1914  On  the  Lipoids  of  ancient  Egyptian  Brains.  J.  Path.  & Bacteriol.,  xviii,  179. 

Manohvrier,  M. 

1903  Deux  trepanations  craniennes  prehistoriques  avec  longue  survie  et  defor- 
mations consecutives.  Bull,  et  mem.  Soc.  d’anthrop.  de  Par.,  404-417,  2 
figs. 

Marotel,  G. 

1909  The  Relation  of  mosquitoes,  flies,  ticks,  fleas,  and  other  arthropods  to 
pathology.  Annl.  Rpt.  Smithson.  Inst.,  Wash.,  703-722. 

Marsh,  0.  C. 

See  J.  B.  Hatcher,  1907. 

Matthew,  W.  D. 

1914  Time  Ratios  in  the  Evolution  of  the  mammalian  Phyla.  A Contribution  to 
the  Problem  of  the  Age  of  the  Earth.  Science,  N.  Y.  & Lancaster,  xl,  232- 
235. 

Mayer,  Dr. 

1854  LYber  krankhafter  Knochen  vorweltlicher  Thiere.  Nova  Acta  Leopoldina, 
xxiv,  pt.  ii,  673-689,  pi.  30. 

Merriam,  j.  C. 

1911  The  Fauna  of  the  Rancho  la  Brea.  Mem.  Univ.  Cahfornia,  Berkeley,  i,  no.  2. 

Metchntkoff,  Elie 

1905  Immunity  in  infectious  Diseases;  translated  from  the  French  by  Francis  G. 
Binnie,  18,  Chap.  iii. 

Moodie,  Roy  L. 

1916.1  Bacteriologic  and  Pathologic  Evidences  in  past  Geologic  Ages.  Tr. 
Chicago  Path.  Soc.,  84-88. 

1916.2  Mesozoic  Pathology  and  Bacteriology.  Science,  N.  Y.  & Lancaster,  N.  S. 
xliii,  425. 

1916.3  Two  caudal  Vertebrae  of  a sauropodous  Dinosaur  exhibiting  a pathological 
Lesion.  Am.  J.  Sc.,  N.  Haven,  xli,  530. 

1917  The  Influence  of  Disease  in  the  Extinction  of  Races.  Science,  N.  Y.  & 
Lancaster,  N.  S.,  xlv,  63. 

1918.1  Pathological  Lesions  among  extinct  Animals:  A Study  of  the  Evidences 
of  Disease  IMillions  of  Years  Ago.  Surg.  Clin.  Chicago,  ii,  319-331,  8 figs. 
(Rev:  Med.  Rec.,  N.  Y.  Sept.  14th,  1918,  474.) 

1918.2  Paleontological  Evidences  of  the  Antiquity  of  Disease.  Scient.  Month., 
N.  Y.,  vii,  265-282,  21  figs.  (Rev;  Boston  M.  & S.  J.,  clxxLx,  459).  (Re- 
ferred to  under  heading:  “The  Antiquity  of  Disease.”  J.  Am.  Med.  Assn., 
Chicago,  Lxxi,  1829.) 

1918.3  Studies  in  Paleopathology.  I.  General  Consideration  of  the  Evidences  of 
pathological  Conditions  found  among  fossil  Animals.  Ann.  Med.  Hist., 
N.  Y.,  i,  no.  4,  374-393,  20  figs. 

1918.4  The  Tubercle  of  Carabelli  and  congenital  Syphilis.  Ann.  Med.  Hist., 
N.  Y.,  i,  no.  4,  423-424. 

1918.5  Studies  in  Paleopathology.  II.  Pathological  Evidences  of  Disease 
among  ancient  Races  of  Man  and  extinct  Animals.  Surg.  Gynec.  & Obst., 
Chicago,  498-510,  45  figs.  Abstract:  So.  Med.  Jour.,  xii,  128,  1919. 


552 


PALEOPA  THOLOGY 


1918.6  Studies  in  Paleopathology.  III.  Opisthotonos  and  allied  Phenomena 
among  fossil  Vertebrates.  Am.  Naturalist,  lii,  38A-394,  8 figs. 

1918.7  On  the  Parasitism  of  Carboniferous  Crinoids.  J.  Parasitol.,  Urbana, 
111.,  iv,  174-176. 

1918.8  Diseases  of  the  Mosasaurs.  Bull.  Geol.  Soc.  Am.,  xxix,  147. 

1918.9  Synthesis  of  Paleontology  and  Medical  History.  Science,  N.  Y.  & Lan- 
caster, XLVIII,  619-620. 

1919. 1 Paleopathology.  So  Med.  J.,  xii,  no.  4,  182-184. 

1919.2  Ancient  Skull  Lesions  and  the  Practice  of  Trephining  in  Prehistoric 
Times.  Surg.  Clin.  Chicago,  hi,  481-496,  figs.  139-149. 

1919.3  Opisthotonos.  Science,  N.  S.  50,  275-276. 

1920. 1 Thread  Mould  and  Bacteria  in  the  Devonian.  Science,  N.  S.,  li,  14-15. 

1920.2  Studies  in  Paleopathology.  IV.  The  Diseases  of  the  ancient  Peru\dans, 
and  some  Account  of  their  Surgical  Practice.  Surg.  Clin.  Chicago,  iv,  no.  1, 
211-231,  figs.  72-83. 

1920 . 3 New  Observations  in  Paleopathology.  Ann.  Med.  Hist.,  N.  Y.,  u,  241-247. 

1920.4  Primitive  Surgery  in  ancient  Egypt.  Surg.  Clin.  Chicago,  iv,  no.  2,  349- 
358,  figs.  121-128. 

1920.5  The  Antiquity  of  Pott’s  Disease  and  other  Spinal  Lesions:  Primitive 
Treatment.  Surg.  Clin.  Chicago,  iv,  no.  3,  619-627,  3 figs. 

1920.6  The  Use  of  the  Cautery  among  Neolithic  and  later  primitive  Peoples. 
Surg.  Clin.  Chicago,  iv,  no.  4,  851-862,  3 figs. 

1920.7  Surgery  and  Disease  among  the  pre-Columbian  Indians  of  North  Amer- 
ica. Surg.  Clin.  Chicago,  iv,  no.  5,  1091-1102,  13  figs. 

1920.8.  Amputation  of  the  Fingers  by  Neolithic  and  modern  primitive  Races, 
and  other  voluntary  mutilations  indicating  some  knowledge  of  Surgery. 
Surg.  Clin.  Chicago,  iv,  no.  6,  1299-1306,  4 figs. 

1921.1  A Variant  of  the  Sincipital  T from  Peru.  Am.  J.  Ph}'s.  Anthropol.,  iv, 
219-222,  2 pis. 

1921.2  The  Status  of  our  Knowledge  of  Mesozoic  Pathology.  Bull.  Geol.  Soc. 
Amer.,  xxxii,  321-326. 

1921 .3  Osteomyelitis  in  the  Permian.  Science,  N.  S.,  liii.  No.  1371,  333. 

1921.4  Bacteria  in  the  American  Permian.  Science,  N.  S.,  liv,  194-195. 

1921.5  Disease  and  Injur}^  in  fossil  Men  and  the  Beginnings  of  Surgery.  Sci. 
Monthly,  xiv,  391-394,  3 figs. 

1921 .6  Recent  Advances  in  Paleopathology.  Science,  N.  S.,  liv,  664. 

1921 . 7 Stone  Age  Man’s  Cure  for  Headache.  Sci.  Monthly,  Feby. 

1922.  1 Actinomycosis  in  a fossil  Rhinoceros.  J.  Parasitolog}’,  Urbana,  111.,  ix, 
No.  1,  28.  September. 

1922.  2 The  Paleopathology  of  the  Parasuchians.  Science,  N.  S.,  LVI,  417. 
Morgan,  Edward  L. 

1893  Syphilis — its  Age  and  Relation  to  the  Antiquity  of  Man.  Virginia  M. 
Semi-Month.,  Richmond,  xx,  166. 

1894  Pre-Columbian  Syphilis.  Virginia  M.  Semi-hlonth.,  Richmond,  xxi,  1042. 
Newton,  A.  and  Newton,  E. 

1870  On  the  Osteology  of  the  Solitaire  or  Didine  Bird  of  the  Island  of  Rodriguez, 
Pezopliaps  solitaria  (Gmel.).  Phil.  Tr.  Rojn  Soc.  London,  clix,  327-362. 

Newton  E.  and  Clark,  J.  W. 

1879  On  the  Osteology  of  the  Solitaire,  Pezophaps  solitaria  (Gmel.).  Phil.  Tr. 
Roy.  Soc.  London,  clxviii,  428-451. 


BIBLIOGRAPHY 


553 


Oefele,  Felix  von 

1902  Studien  ueber  die  altaegyptische  Parasitologic.  Archives  de  Parasitologic, 
V.  499-503,  Paris. 

Orton,  S.  T. 

1905  A Study  of  the  pathological  Changes  in  some  Mound-Builders’  Bones  from 
the  Ohio  Valley,  with  especial  Reference  to  Syphilis.  Univ.  Penn.  M.  Bull., 
Phila.,  xviii,  36-44. 

Osborn,  H.  F. 

1895  Perissodactyls  of  the  Lower  Miocene  White  River  Beds.  Bull.  Am.  Mus. 
Nat.  Flist.,  N.  Y.,  vii,  351. 

1906  The  Causes  of  Extinction  of  Mammalia.  Am.  Naturalist,  xl.  769-795; 
829-859. 

1910  The  Age  of  Mammals  in  Europe,  Asia,  and  North  America.  N.  Y.,  8vo, 
285,  507. 

1915  Men  of  the  Old  Stone  Age,  their  Environment,  Life,  and  Art.  N.  Y.,  8vo,  41. 

1917  The  Origin  and  Evolution  of  Life,  on  the  Theory  of  Action,  Reaction  and 
Interaction  of  Energy,  N.  Y.,  8vo,  85.  ^ 

Owen,  Sir  Richard 

1842  Description  of  the  Skeleton  of  an  extinct  gigantic  Sloth,  Mylodon  robustus 
Owen,  with  Observations  on  the  Osteology,  Natural  Affinities,  and  probable 
Habits  of  the  Megatheroid  Quadrupeds  in  General.  London,  4to. 

Pagel,  J.  and  Sudhofe,  K. 

1915  Einfiihrung  in  die  Geschichte  der  Medizin,  33. 

Parker,  Charles  A. 

1904  Evidences  of  rheumatoid  Arthritis  in  the  Lansing  Man.  Am.  Geol.,  x.xxiii, 
39-42, 1 fig. 

Pettigrew,  Th.  J. 

1834  A History  of  Egyptian  Mummies,  London,  8vo. 

PONCET,  A. 

1909  Deformations  osseuses  pathologiques.  Arch.  d’Mus.  d’Hist.  nat.  de  Lyon, 
ix,  26-31,  6 figs. 

PUSEY,  W.  A. 

1915  The  Beginnings  of  Syphilis.  J.  Am.  M.  Assn.,  Chicago,  Ixiv,  1961-1963. 

Raspail,  F.  V. 

1860  Histoire  natureUe  de  la  Sante  et  de  la  maladie  chez  les  vegetaux  et  chez  les 
animaux  en  general,  Paris. 

Ray,  M.  B.  & Buxton,  L.  H.  D. 

1914  Some  pathological  and  other  conditions  observed  among  the  human  re- 
mains from  a prehistoric  Ethiopian  cemetery  in  southern  Sudan,  Africa. 
Proc.  xvii  Internat.  Cong.  Med.  1913,  Lond.,  1914,  Sect,  xxiii,  231-236. 

Raymond,  Paul 

1912  Les  maladies  de  nos  ancetres  a Page  de  la  pierre.  .^sculape.  Par.,  ii,  121. 

Renault,  Bernard 

1895.1  Sur  quelques  bacteries  des  temps  primaires.  Bull.  deMus.  d’Hist.  Nat., 
Par.  1,  no.  4,  pp.  168-172,  4 figs. 

1895.2  Sur  quelques  bacteries  anciennes.  Bull.  deMus.  d’Hist.  Nat.,  Tome  1, 
247-252,  6 figs. 

1895.3  Sur  quelques  bacteries  du  Dinantian  (Culm).  C.  R.  des  se  de  I’Acad.  des 
Sci.  Par.  120,  162-164. 


554 


PALEOPATHOLOGY 


1896.1  Recherches  sur  les  bacteriacees  fossiles.  Ann.  des  sci.  nat.  bot.,  viii  serie 

2,  275-349. 

1896.2  Les  Bacteries  devoniennes  et  le  genre  Aporoxylon  d’Unger.  Bidl.  d. 
Mus.  d’Hist.  Nat.  Paris,  201-203. 

1896.3  Notes  sur  quelques  nouvelles  bacteries  fossiles.  Bull.  d.  Mus.  d’Hist. 
nat.  Par.,  2,  285-288,  4 figs. 

1896.4  Les  Bacteries  devoniennes  et  le  genre  Aporoxylon  d’Unger.  Bull,  de  la 
Soc.  d’Hist.  nat.  d’Autun.  9,  139-142. 

1896.5  Houille  et  Bacteriacees.  Bull.  Soc.  d’Hist.  nat.  d’Autun.  475-500,  1 pi. 

1896.6  Les  Bacteriacees  de  la  houille.  C.  R.  des  se.  de  I’Acad.  des  sci.  Par.  123, 
pp.  935-955. 

1896.7  Sur  quelques  Bacteries  devonennes.  C.  R.  des  se.  de  I’Acad.  des  sci.  Par. 
122,  pp.  1226-1227. 

1897. 1 Les  Bacteriacees  et  les  bogheads  a Pilas.  Bull,  du  Mus.  d’Hist.  nat.  Par., 

3,  33-39,  4 figs. 

1897.2  Les  Bacteriacees  des  bogheads.  Bull,  du  Mus.  d’Hist.  nat.  Par.,  3,  251- 
258,  6 figs. 

1897.3  Bogheads  et  bacteriacees.  Bull.  d.  Soc.  d’Hist.  nat.  d’Autun.,  x,  433- 
469,  18  text  figures. 

1897.4  Les  Bacteriacees  des  bogheads.  C.  R.  des  se.  de  I’Acad.  des  sci.  Par.,  124, 
pp.  1315-1318. 

1898. 1 Les  microorganismes  des  lignites.  C.  R.  des  se.  de  I’Acad.  des  sci.  Par., 
126, 1828-1831. 

1898.2  Du  mode  de  propogation  des  bacteriacees  dans  les  combustibles  fossiles 
et  du  role  qu’elles  ont  joue  dans  leur  formation.  Bull.  d.  Soc.  d’Hist.  nat. 
d’Autun,  9,  pp.  133-147  (In  the  Proces  verbeaux).  (With  A.  Roche.) 

1899-1900  Microorganismes  des  combustibles  fossiles.  Bull.  d.  la  Soc.  d.  I’ln- 
dustrie  minerale  a Saint-Etienne.  Serie  III,  1899.  Tome  13,  pp.  865-1,161; 
Tome  14,  pp.  5-159.  1900  with  atlas  (1898-1899).  pis.  x-xxv;  Atlas 

1900-1901,  pis.  i-v. 

Rietta,  Arnoldo 

See  Ruffer,  Sir  Marc  Armand,  1912. 

Riggs,  E.  S. 

1903  Structure  and  Relationship  of  the  opisthocoelian  Dinosaurs.  Part  I,  Apato- 
saurus. Field  Museum,  Chicago,  Pub.  82,  177. 

Ruedemann,  Rudolf 

1916  The  Paleontology  of  arrested  Evolution.  N.  Y.  State  Mus.,  Bull.  196, 
107-134. 

Ruffer,  Sir  Marc  Armand 

1909  Preliminary  Note  on  the  Histology  of  Egyptian  Mummies.  Brit.  I\I.  J., 
Lond.,  i,  1005. 

1910.1  Pott’sche  Krankheit  an  einer  agj'ptischen  Mumie  aus  der  Zeit  der  21 
Dynastie  (um  1000  v.  Chr.)  Zur  historischen  Biol.  d.  Krankheitserreger 
3,  9-16,  2 plates  (With  G.  Elliot  Smith). 

1910.2  Remarks  on  the  Histology  and  pathological  Anatomy  of  Egyptian  IMum- 
mies.  Cairo  Sc.  J.,  no.  40,  iv,  1-5,  January. 

1910.3  Note  on  the  Presence  of  “Bilharzia  haematobia”  in  Egyptian  Mummies 
of  the  twentieth  Dynasty  (1250-1000  b.  c.)  Brit.  IM.  J.,  1,  16. 

1911.1  On  arterial  Lesions  found  in  Egyptian  Mummies.  J.  Path  & Bacteriol., 
XV,  453-462,  2 plates. 


BIBLIOGRAPHY 


555 


1911 . 2 Note  on  an  Eruption  resembling  that  of  Variola  in  the  Skin  of  a Mummy 
of  the  Twentieth  Dynasty  (1200-1100  b.  c.)  J.  Path.  & Bacterioh,  xv,  1-3, 
1 plate.  (With  A.  R.  Ferguson.) 

1911.3  On  Dwarfs  and  other  deformed  Persons  in  ancient  Egypt.  Bull.  Soc. 
Archeol.  d’Alexandrie,  No.  13,  1-17,  5 plates. 

1911.4  Histological  Studies  on  Egyptian  Mummies.  Mem.  pres.  alTnst.  Egypt., 
Le  Caire,  vii,  1-40,  11  plates. 

1912.1  On  osseous  Lesions  in  ancient  Egyptians.  J.  Path.  & Bacterioh,  xvi, 
439-466,  8 plates.  (With  Arnoldo  Rietti.) 

1913.1  Studies  in  Palaeopathology  in  Egypt.  J.  Path.  & Bacterioh,  xviii,  149- 
162,  6 plates. 

1914.1  Studies  in  Palaeopathology.  Note  on  the  Diseases  of  the  Sudan  and 
Nubia  in  ancient  Times.  Mitt.  z.  Gesch.  d.  Med.  u.  d.  Naturw.,  Hamb.  & 
Leipz.,  xiii,  453-460  (1913-1914). 

1914.2  Pathological  notes  on  the  Royal  Mummies  of  the  Cairo  Museum.  Mitt, 
z.  Gesch.  d.  Med.  u.  d.  Naturw.,  Hamb.  & Leipz.,  xiii,  239-268. 

1914.3  Studies  in  Palaeopathology.  Note  on  a Tumor  of  the  Pelvis  dating  from 
Roman  Times  (250  A.  D.)  and  found  in  Egypt.  T.  Path.  & Bacterioh,  xviii, 
480-484,  2 plates. 

1917  A Pathological  Specimen  dating  from  the  Lower  Miocene^  Period  (Extrait 
de  “Contributions  a I’Etude  des  Vertebres  miocenes  de  I’Egypte.)  Cairo, 
Survey  Dept.,  1917,  2 pis.  7 pp. 

1918.1  Some  recent  researches  on  prehistoric  Trephining.  Jour.  Path.  Bacterioh, 
xxii,  90-104,  1 fig. 

1918.2  Arthritis  deformans  and  spondylitis  in  ancient  Egypt.  Jour.  Path. 
Bacterioh,  xxii,  152-196,  6 pis. 

1920  Abnormalities  and  Pathology  of  ancient  Egyptian  Teeth.  Amer.  Jour. 
Phys.  Anthrop.,  HI,  335-382,  8 pis. 

1921  Studies  in  the  Paleopathology  of  Egypt.  University  of  Chicago  Press, 
edited  by  Roy  L.  Moodie,  pp.  i-xx  and  1-372,  71  plates.  This  work  contains' 
reprints  of  most  of  Ruffer’s  studies  in  paleopathology. 

Of  accessory  importance  are  the  following: 

1919 . 1 Food  in  Egypt.  Memoires  presentes  a ITnstitut  Egyptien.  I,  1-88. 

1919 . 2 On  the  physical  effects  of  consanguineous  Marriages  in  the  royal  Families 
of  ancient  Egypt.  Proc.  Roy.  Soc.  of  Med.,  Sect,  of  Hist,  of  Med.,  London, 
xii,  1-46,  27  figs. 

SCHAAFHAUSEN,  D. 

1858  Zur  Kenntnis  der  altesten  Rassenschadeh  Arch.  f.  Anat.  Physiol,  u.  Wis- 
sen.  Med.  453-478,  1 ph  See  also:  Nat.  Hist.  Rev.,  London,  1861,  155- 
176,  2 pis. 

ScHLOssER,  Max 

1909  Die  Baren-  oder  Tischofer-hohle  im  Kaiserthal  bei  Kufstein.  Abhandl.  d. 
math. -phys.  Chd.k.  bayer.  Akad.  d.  Wissensch.,  Munich,  x.xiv.  385-506, 
5 pis. 

SCHMERLING,  P.  C. 

1835  Description  des  ossemens  fossiles,  a I’etat  pathologique,  provenant  des 
caverns  de  la  province  de  Liege.  Bull.  Soc.  geoh  de  France,  vii,  51-61. 

1883  Recherches  sur  les  ossemens  fossiles.  Chap,  xi,  “Des  ossemens  fossiles 
a I’etat  pathologique.”  Liege. 


556 


PALEOPATHOLOGY 


Schwalbe,  G. 

1901  Ueber  die  spezifischen  Merkmale  des  Neanderthalschadels.  Verhandl.  d. 
Anat.  Gesellsch.,  Jena,  440-461. 

Shattock, 

1909  Microscopic  Sections  of  the  Aorta  of  King  Merneptheh.  Lancet,  Lond.,  319, 

Smith,  G.  Elliot 

1906  A Contribution  to  the  Study  of  Mummification  in  Egypt  with  special 
Reference  to  the  Measures  adopted  during  the  time  of  the  xxist  Dynasty 
for  moulding  the  Form  of  the  Body.  Mem.  pres,  a I’lnstit.  Egypt.,  v,  1-53, 
19  pis. 

1907  Report  on  the  unrolling  of  the  Mummies  of  the  Kings  Siptah,  Seti  II, 
Rameses  IV,  Rameses  V,  and  Rameses  VI.  Bull,  de  I’lnstit.  Eg>"pt.,^5e 
serie,  i. 

1908 . 1 The  Unwrapping  of  Pharaoh.  Brit.  M.  J.,  Lond.,  i,  342. 

1908 . 2 The  most  ancient  splints.  Brit.  M.  J.,  Lond.,  i,  732-734. 

1908.3  Medical  Egyptology.  Brit.  M.  J.,  Lond.,  i,  769. 

1908.4  Notes  on  Mummies.  Brit.  M.  J.,  Lond.,  i,  1062. 

1910.1  Report  on  Human  Remains.  The  Archeological  Survey  of  Nubia.  Re- 
port for  1907-08,  ii,  1-375,  with  folio  atlas  of  49  pis.  issued  by  Ministr)’-  of 
Finance,  Egyptian  Survey  Department,  Cairo.  (With  F.  Wood  Jones.) 

1910.2  Pott’sche  Krankheit  an  einer  aegy’ptischen  Mumie  aus  der  Zeit  der  21 
Dynastie  (um  1000  v.  Chr.).  Zur  historischen  Biol,  der  Krankheitserreger. 
Heft  3,  9-16,  Giessen.,  2 pis. 

1917  The  Origin  of  the  pre-Columbian  Civilization  of  America.  Science,  N.  Y. 
& Lancaster,  N.  S.,  xlv,  241. 

Soemmering,  S.  Th.  von 

1828  Ueber  die  geheilte  Verletzung  eines  fossilen  Hyanenschadels.  Verhandl 
d.k.  Leopold.  Carolin.  Akad.  Naturf.,  Bonn,  1829,  vi,  Abth.  i,  9. 

Steindachner,  F. 

1859  Beitrage  zur  Kenntnis  der  fossilen  Fischfauna  Oesterreichs.  Sitzungsb. 
d.k.  Akad.  d.  Wissensch.,  Math.-naturw.  Cl.,  Wien,  xxxvii,  685-693,  3 pis. 

Stomer  von  Reichenbach,  Ernst 

1909  Parasitism.  Lehrbuch  der  Paleozoologie,  i,  12,  fig.  IIB;  109,  fig.  128B; 
274,  287,  324. 

Sudhoff,  K. 

1909  Medizin  in  der  Steinzeit.  Zeitschr.  f.  artzl.  Fortbildung,  6 Jahr.  Nr.  6, 
196-200. 

1910  Zur  Einfiihrung  und  Orientierung.  (Preface  to  essay  by  Ruffer  and  Smith 
on  Pott’s  disease  in  an  Egyptian  IMummy  of  the  21st  Dynasty  (1000  b.  c.) 
Zur  historischer  Biologie  der  Krankheitserreger,  Heft  3,  3-8. 

Thoma,  K.  H. 

1916  Oral  Diseases  of  ancient  Nations  and  Tribes.  J.  .Allied  Dent.  Soc.,  N.  Y., 
xii,  327-334,  8 pi.  (Rev.:  Dental  Cosmos,  lix,  1162). 

Tieghem,  Ph.,  van 

1879  Sur  la  fermentation  butyrique  (Bacillus  amylobacter)  a I’epoque  de  la  hou- 
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Troxell,  Edward  L. 

1915  The  Vertebrate  Fossils  of  Rock  Creek,  Texas.  Am.  J.  Sc.,  N.  Haven,  xxxix, 
626,  fig.  14. 


BIBLIOGRAPHY 


557 


Virchow,  R. 

1870  Ueber  einen  Besuch  der  west-fallischen  Knochenhohle.  Ztschr.  f.  Ethnol., 
Berl.,  ii,  365,  footnote. 

1872  Untersuchung  des  Neanderthal  Schadels.  Ztschr.  f.  Ethnol.,  Berl.,  iv,  57. 
1885  Ueber  krankhaft  veranderte  Knochen  alter  Peruaner.  Sitzungsb.  d.  k.  Preuss. 
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Volz,  W. 

1902  Proneusticosaurus,  eine  neue  Sauropterygier-Gattung  aus  dem  unteren 
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Bonn,  viii,  16. 

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1909  Revision  of  the  Protestegidse.  Am.  J.  Sc.,  N.  Haven,  xxvii,  125,  pk  2. 
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1904  P^estoration  of  dried  tissues,  with  especial  reference  to  human  remains. 
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WiLLISTON,  S.  W. 

1898  Mosasaurs.  Univ.  Geok  Surv.  Kansas,  iv,  pk  Ivi,  figs.  3-5. 

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WiLLMORE,  J.  G. 

1914  See  Ruffer,  Sir  Marc  Armand,  1914.3. 

Wilson,  Thomas 

1901  Arrow  Wounds,  Amer.  Anthrop.,  iii,  513-531,  3 pis.,  9 figs. 


INDEX 


! I Abel,  O.,  68,  70,  122,  223,  251,  326. 

; I Abscess,  subperiosteal,  123. 

: I Abscesses,  224,  402,  422. 

' Acanthodes  gracilis,  340. 

; ^ Acromegaly,  348,  448. 

I Actinomyces,  249. 

| Actinomycosis,  175,  238,  243,  249,  258. 

Actinophrys,  35. 

1 1 Adachi,  B.,  398. 

1 1 Adami,  J.  G.,  289. 

I i Aeleurocyon,  126,  154. 

If  Aenocyon  dirus,  128,  253. 
ri  Aesocrinus,  110. 

I j Agate  Spring  Quarry,  126. 
f Aichstadt,  326. 

7 Alethopteris,  105. 

, Alexander  the  Great,  soldiers  of,  430. 

Algeria,  22,  352. 

1 Algonkian,  30,  290. 

Alligators,  331. 

Allosaurus  fragilis,  69. 

Alveolar  osteitis,  86,  221. 

Amber  of  the  Baltic,  104,  287. 

Ameghino,  Florentine,  485. 

■'  Amenhotep  If,  392. 

American  Museum  of  Natural  History,  11, 
; 162,  238,  252,  489. 

Ammon,  Priest  of,  424. 

Amoebae,  35. 

7 Amputation,  69,  361,  374,  532. 

' ^ Amulet,  cranial,  358,  384. 

•-  Ancylostoma  duodenale,  287. 

Anesthesia,  455. 

Aneurism,  carotid,  430. 

Animals,  oldest  known,  48. 
h Ankylosis,  124,  410,  432. 
j>  Anning,  Miss  Mary,  328. 
i'<  Annulata,  48. 

I Anomalies,  223,  240,  254. 
g Anoplotherium  commune,  28,  62. 

^ Ants,  fossil,  showing  parasitism,  287. 
f-  Antheridia,  105. 
j Anthrax,  35. 

Anthropology,  221,  358. 


Anthropopithecus  troglodytes,  225. 
Antiquity  of  disease,  39. 

Antrodemus,  154. 

Aorta  of  Mernepthah,  392. 

Apatosaurus,  fractured  rib,  123,  154. 
louisiae,  165,  192. 
tumor  in,  162,  180. 

Apes,  115,  410,  450. 

Aphelops,  258. 

Appendicitis,  398. 

Archaeopteryx  macroura,  326,  331,  340. 
Archaeotherium,  126. 

Archaeozoic,  duration  of,  96. 

Archelon  ischyros,  69,  88. 

Armstrong,  John  M.,  169. 

Arrow-point  injuries,  349,  380. 

Arterial  lesions,  392,  394. 

Arteriosclerosis,  392. 

Arthritides,  deforming,  86, 161, 169, 432, 468. 
Arthritis,  multiple,  in  Mosasaur,  171,  216. 
Arthritis  deformans,  86,  125,  161,  278,  348, 
352,  534. 

Ashmead,  A.  S.,  490. 

Assuan  Dam,  403. 

Atheroma,  393. 

Auer,  Erwin,  71,  90. 

Aurignacian  caves,  363,  374. 

Australian  native,  376. 

Autun  Schists,  221,  294,  295,  318. 

Aymara,  356,  486,  514. 

Aysheaia  pedunculata,  48. 

Baboon,  448. 

Bacillus  amylobacter,  103. 

Bacillus  lepidophagus  arcuatus,  294,  301. 
Bacteria,  120,  289,  318,  331,  396. 
of  the  coal,  294. 
oldest  known,  30,  42,  290,  312. 

Bacterial  activity,  103. 

Bacteridium,  301. 

Bacteriology,  fossil,  289-322. 

Bacterium,  30,  300. 

Baltic  amber,  insects  of,  287. 

Bandelier,  A.  F.,  490. 


560 


PALEOPATHOLOGY 


Barrel!,  Joseph,  77. 

Bartels,  Paul,  350. 

Barycrinus  hoveyi,  308. 

Bassler,  R.  S.,  46,  286. 

Bathycrinus,  34. 

Batujeff,  N.,  354. 

Bavaria,  326,  340. 

Becquerel  rays,  78. 

Bees,  Leaf  cutting,  107. 

Bell,  Sir  Charles,  329. 

BeUy  river  series,  327. 

Berry,  Edward  W.,  99. 

Bertrand,  103. 

Bdharziosis,  397. 

Bingham,  Hiram,  487. 

Birds,  ancient,  326. 

Bison,  118,  129,  156,  218,  278,  280. 

Bloch,  Ivan,  453. 

Blood  corpuscles,  fossil,  165,  169,  296. 
Bloodletting,  453. 

Bolivia,  recent  trephining  in,  356,  490. 
Bopyridae,  288. 

Bos  africanus,  174. 

Bothriolepis  canadensis,  292,  320. 
Bothrodendron,  102. 

Bouchard’s  nodosities,  405. 

Brachet,  360. 

Brachiopods,  54. 

Brains,  167,  180,  331. 

Branchioplax  washingtoniana,  288. 

Breasted,  J.  H.,  22,  380. 

Broca,  Paul,  350,  357. 

Broili,  F.,  338. 

Brown,  Barnum,  123. 

Buckland,  Wm.,  61. 

Buffalo  horn  used  in  cupping,  454. 

Buffalo  skull,  use  of  sacred,  363. 

Bull,  ancient,  349,  380. 

Bull-frog,  119. 

Bullet  wound  in  bison,  130. 

Burgessia  bella,  50. 

Byssacanthus,  297. 

Caenomyces,  104. 

Calculus,  vesical  in  ancient  Eg3rpt,  396. 
Calendar,  introduction  of,  22. 

Callosities,  101. 

CaUus,  101,  115,  138. 

Camarasaurus,  165. 

Cambium,  101. 

Cambrian  crustaceans,  50. 

Camels,  fossil,  69,  88,  175,  236,  282,  325,  338. 


Camptosaurus  browni,  69,  245,  256. 

Canadia  setigera,  48. 

Canadia  spinosa,  48. 

Canaliculi,  119. 

Canary  Islands,  primitive  surgery  in,  360. 
CarabeUi,  George  C.,  354,  493. 
Carboniferous,  285,  310. 

Caries,  7 1 , 22 1 , 225, 294, 300-303, 348, 405, 432. 
origin  of,  222. 
sicca,  67. 

Carnivore,  Eocene,  154. 

Cartilage  cells,  117. 

Case,  E.  C.,  116,  129. 

Cash  & Hick,  105. 

CasteUani,  Aldo,  287. 

Caterpillars,  107. 

Catopterus  gracilis,  329. 

Cautery,  357,  358,  361,  386,  502,  516. 

Cave  bear,  80,  254,  276,  354. 
gout,  66. 

Cecidomyiids,  107. 

Cetiosaurus  leedsi,  154. 

Chaetodon,  osteoma  in,  171. 

Chalicotheres,  126. 

Chibcha,  487. 

Chihuahua,  455. 

Chilly  Naranjo,  360. 

Chronology  of  EgjqDt,  389. 

Chulpa,  358,  494. 

Cicatrice,  101. 

Cicatrization,  101. 

Cimoliasaurus,  325. 

Cladosporites,  105. 

Cladosporites  fasciculatus,  112. 

Clams,  Miocene,  58. 

Clarke,  John  M.,  21,  92,  242,  283,  286,  308. 
Clidastes,  184. 

Clift,  William,  63. 

Cliona,  287. 

Coccosteus  acadianus,  292,  320. 

CockereU,  T.  D.  A.,  343,  378. 

Cohoes  mastodon,  221,  224. 

Coleoptera,  343. 

CoUes’  fracture,  352. 

Columbus,  sailors  of,  354. 

Commensalism,  284,  310. 

Compsognathus  longipes,  326,  331,  340. 
Conwentz,  106. 

Cook,  Harold,  175,  236,  258,  270,  282. 
Coprolites,  295,  312. 
bacteria  of,  295. 

Permian,  295,  304,  322,  336. 


INDEX 


561 


Copts,  166,  432. 

Cordaixylon,  292. 

Corset,  orthopedic,  462. 

Cotte,  Charles,  74,  221. 

Coulter,  J.  M.,  105. 

Crane,  fracture  in  femur  of,  128. 

Cretaceous,  169,  212,  327. 

Cribra  cranii,  398. 

Cribra  orbitalia,  399,  420. 

Crinoids,  32,  110,  283,  285,  308,  310. 
Crocodile,  90,  174,  328. 

Crustacea,  33,  99,  288. 

Crutch,  primitive,  454,  460. 

Ctenodus,  297. 

Cultures  of  bacteria  fossilized,  316. 
Cumberland  cave,  253,  276. 

Cuvier,  Baron,  28,  62,  82,  326. 
Cynocephalus,  410. 

Cystids,  110. 

Daphaenus  felinus,  67,  246,  272. 

Darwin,  Charles,  77. 

Dean,  Bashford,  27,  327,  330. 

D6chelette,  380. 

Demon,  357. 

DeMorgan,  J.,  388. 

Dermoid  cyst  of  the  scalp,  409,  438. 

Derry,  D.  E.,  401,  409. 

Devonian,  92,  291. 

Diceratherium  Cooki,  270. 

Dictyospongidae,  286. 

Dimetrodon  incisivus,  116,  136. 

Dinosaurus,  122, 161, 190,  192,  245,  320,  326, 
341. 

Dinosaurs,  Three  Horned,  69,  88,  124,  134, 
160,  245. 

Diospyros,  104,  114. 

Diplococci,  292. 

Diplodocus,  67,  90,  182. 

Diploe,  sinus  in,  127. 

Disease,  geological  evidences  of,  25,  92. 
origin  of,  35,  91. 
definition  of,  29. 

Dog,  fossil,  67,  246,  272. 

DoUo,  L.,  222. 

Dolmens,  358. 

Drepanodus,  225. 

Drew,  G.  Harold,  290. 

Dromocyon  vorax,  125. 

Dubois,  E.,  347. 

Duckworth,  W.  L.  H.,  115. 


Eaton,  Geo.  F.,  388,  492. 

Ebers’  papyrus,  395. 

Eccles,  R.  G.,  288. 

Ectoconus,  124. 

Edaphosaurus  cruciger  (fracture  in),  116, 
132,  136,  244. 

Eel  worms,  107. 

Egyptians,  166,  220,  387,  450. 

Eldonia  ludwigi,  56. 

Elephant  tusk,  242,  320. 

Emprosthotonos,  323-327. 

Engelhardt,  H.,  105. 

Eocene  leaf,  114. 

Eocene  mammals,  spondylitis  deformans  in, 
174. 

Eosiren  libyca,  70. 

Eotherium  aegyptiacum,  70. 

Erlangen,  62,  166. 

Escomel,  Edmundo,  489. 

Esper,  E.  J.  C.,  62. 

Etheridge,  Robert,  285. 

Eurypterids,  342. 

Excrescence,  88,  232. 

Exostoses  of  dentine,  242. 

Exostosis,  170,  243. 

Extinct  diseases,  26. 

Extinction,  99,  341,  345. 

Extinction  of  races,  341. 

Falls,  F.  H.,  312,  330. 

Feces,  fossil,  294,  314. 

Felix,  J.,  105. 

Fibers  of  Sharpey,  120,  173,  204. 

Fish  bone,  bacteria  in,  318. 

Fishes,  caries  in,  222,  294. 
opisthotonos  in,  328. 
pleurothotonos  in,  328. 

Fistulae,  alveolar,  221. 

Flacherie,  35. 

Fleming,  George,  91. 

Flint  knife,  use  of,  364,  376,  422,  454. 

Flood,  61. 

Florissant  shales,  329,  343,  378. 

Flux,  101. 

Focal  infections,  222. 

Foci,  395. 

Foote,  J.  S.,  119. 

Fossil,  24. 

Fossilization,  24,  166,  324. 

Fouquet,  388. 

Fraas,  E.,  284. 


562 


PA  LEOPA  THOLOGY 


Fractures,  115,  152,  353. 

among  early  mammals,  124. 
in  dinosaurs,  122. 

Pleistocene,  62,  80,  126. 
the  oldest  known,  116,  136. 
Triassic,  121,  160. 

Freeman,  455,  460. 

Fric,  A.,  107. 

Fungi,  fossil,  103,  112,  316. 
spot,  104,  114. 

Gaillard,  Claude,  24. 

GaUs,  107,  110,  114,  286,  310. 
Gastropod,  110,  286. 

Gaudry,  Albert,  295. 

Geddes,  Sir  Auckland,  348. 

GeUde,  78. 

Geinitz,  108. 

Geode,  a crinoid,  286,  310. 

Geosaurus  gracilis,  328. 

Giantism,  68,  90,  251. 

Giant  wolf,  128,  253,  272. 

Gibbon,  287. 

Gilmore,  Charles,  69,  116. 

Glass  sponges,  30. 

Glossina  veterna,  343,  378. 
Glyptodonts,  245. 

Gods  of  nature,  influence  of,  361. 
Goeppert,  H.  R.,  101. 

Goldfuss,  A.,  62. 

Gorilla,  115,  229. 
Gorjanovic-Kramberger,  354. 
Goundou,  488,  498. 

Graefe,  Albrecht  von,  63. 

Graff,  L.  von,  285,  310. 

Graph,  36,  44. 

Guanche  skulls,  360. 

Gummosis,  101. 

Gundu,  488. 

Haemangioma,  163-165,  182,  192-200. 
Haematuria,  397. 

Hall,  James,  34,  224. 

Hamilton  shales,  286. 

Hatcher,  J.  B.,  67,  188,  272. 
Haversian  system,  119,  163. 

Hemin  reaction,  167. 

Hemorrhage,  stoppage  of,  349,  362. 
Hermit  crabs,  285. 

Herring,  fossil,  328. 

Hick,  105. 

Hirsch,  August,  23,  395. 

Histology  of  mosasaur  bone,  204-210. 


Histology  of  Permian  fractures,  118, 142-146. 
Hohlengicht,  66,  354. 

Holden,  H.  S.,  101. 

Holland,  W.  J.,  164. 

Holothurian,  56. 

Holocystites,  110. 

Horn  core,  broken  88. 

Horn  core,  fracture  in,  88,  126. 

Horse,  three-toed,  221,  238,  249,  282. 
Howorth,  H.  H.,  342. 

Hrdlicka,  Ale§,  25,  350,  452. 

Huacos,  489,  530-532. 

Huene,  F.  von,  121. 

Hutchinson’s  teeth,  354,  493. 

Huxley,  T.  H.,  77. 

Hyaena,  28,  62. 

Hydractinians,  285. 

H}'drocephalus,  401. 

Hypacrosaurus,  123. 

Hyperostosis,  90,  245. 

Hypertrophy,  58,  246,  353,  466. 

Hysterites  cordaitis,  104. 

Ichthyodorulites,  294. 

Iguanodon,  166. 

Images,  clay,  representing  Pott’s  disease, 
452,  472. 

Immunity 

in  modern  invertebrates,  34. 
in  Paleozoic  animals,  30. 

Incas,  487. 

Incisions  of  the  scalp,  361. 

Infantile  paralysis,  408,  426. 

Infections,  chronic,  243. 

Infrabasals  of  crinoid  in  regeneration,  34. 
Insects,  activities  of,  106,  108,  287. 

Isopod,  parasitic,  288. 

Instruments,  primitive  surgical,  520. 

Java,  man  of,  347,  382. 

Jeanselme,  354. 

Jeffrey,  E.  C.,  101. 

Jigger,  490. 

Jones,  F.  Wood,  167,  397. 

Jordan,  David  Starr,  328. 

Jurassic,  71,  326,  328,  336. 

Kabyl  tribes,  356,  386. 

Kansas,  118,  170,  186,  293. 

Keith,  -Arthur,  370. 

Kellogg,  V.  L.,  288. 

Keloids,  364. 


INDEX 


563 


Kelvin,  Lord,  78. 

Keokuk  geodes,  310. 

Kerunia,  284. 

Keyes,  C.  R.,  286. 

Kings  of  Egypt,  389. 

Klebs,  Arnold  C.,  22,  389. 

Knies,  J.,  66. 

Knowlton,  F.  H.,  107. 

Kolbe,  H.  J.,  108. 

Koelliker,  A.,  119,  292. 
Kowalevsky,  35. 

Krapina,  man  from,  354. 
Kufstein,  68,  254. 

Kusta,  J.,  108. 

Kyphosis,  378. 

Labyrinthodonts,  293,  341. 
Lacunae,  119,  320. 

Lamellae,  320. 

Land,  105. 

Langdon,  453. 

Lasius,  287. 

Laurinoxylon,  112. 

Le  Baron,  Jules,  22,  347,  350. 
Lehmann-Nitsche,  360. 
Leidophyte,  106. 

Leidy,  Joseph,  28,  221,  224,  234. 
Leishmania,  489. 

Leishmaniosis,  489,  530. 
Leontiasis,  448. 

Lepidostrobus  cone,  105. 
Leprosy,  489. 

Leptolepis  sprattiformis,  328. 
Leptothrix,  228. 

Lesquereux,  L.,  112. 

L6tulle,  488. 

Lias,  328. 

Liege,  64. 

Limnocyon  potens,  252,  268. 
Lipoids,  167. 

Lordosis,  350. 

Lorraine,  44. 

Lortet,  L.  C.,  24,  388,  397,  416. 
Loxonema,  31. 

Loxoplocus,  31. 
Lucas-Championni6re,  357. 
Lucius  lucius,  288. 

Lull,  R.  S.,  69,  341. 

Luxation,  congenital,  504. 

Lyell,  Charles,  64,  77. 

Mair,  W.,  166. 

Malaria,  397. 


Malformations,  33. 

Mallophaga,  288. 

Mammoth  tooth,  223. 

Manouvrier,  347,  358. 

Manatus,  228. 

Mariut  desert,  175. 

Markham,  Sir  Clements,  486. 

Marsh,  O.  C.,  161,  188. 

Martin,  H.  T.,  11,  163,  171. 

Mastodon  americanus,  127,  158,  180,  224, 
240,  344. 

Mastodon  floridanus,  224. 

Matthew,  W.  D.,  37,  77,  238. 

Mayas  of  Yucatan,  23,  485. 

Mayer,  62. 

McCurdy,  G.  G.,  360. 

Measurements  of  geologic  time,  78. 

Medicine  men,  362. 

Medusa,  56. 

Megalohyrax,  223. 

Melancholia,  cure  of,  360. 

Menes,  22. 

Merneptah,  392. 

Merriam,  John  C.,  128. 

Merychippus  campestris,  221,  223,  238. 
Merycochoerus  rusticus,  270. 

Meschinelli,  A.,  104. 

Mesosaurus  brasiliensis,  330. 

Metastasis,  71. 

MetchnikoflF,  E.,  35,  91. 

Metriorhynchus,  71,  90. 

Micrococcus,  42,  290,  296,  298,  312. 
Micrococcus  devonicus,  291. 

Micrococcus  lepidophagus,  298-300. 
Microsphaera,  35. 

Minot,  C.  S.,  36. 

Miocene,  328. 

Mississippian,  308,  310. 

Mitchell,  J.  K.,  408. 

Moravia,  70. 

Moropus,  134. 

Moropus,  fracture  in,  126,  152. 

Mosasaurs,  70, 169,  184,  202,  246,  262. 
Mounds,  Indian,  349,  358,  451. 

Mucor,  105. 

Mucor  combrensis,  105. 

Mummies,  167,  392,  403,  424. 

Mummified  animals  of  Egypt,  24,  388,  397, 
410. 

Muskox,  129,  160. 

Mycelia,  106,  316. 

Mycelites  ossifragus,  225,  292. 


564 


PALEOPATHOLOGY 


Mycorhiza,  106. 

Mycorhizonium,  106. 

Myeloxylon,  101. 

Mylodon  robustus,  70,  129. 

Mystriosaurus  bollensis,  328. 

Mystriosuchus  plieningeri,  121, 160. 
Myxidium  lieberkiihni,  288. 

Myzostomids,  285,  286,  310. 

Nagana,  343. 

Nahua,  487. 

Nature  of  ancient  diseases,  38. 

Neanderthal  man,  348,  382. 

Necator  americanus,  287. 

Necrosis,  69,  115,  245,  256,  262,  266. 
Nefermaat,  403. 

Neolithic  man,  347. 

Neolithic  period,  pathology  during,  292, 
347,  349,  356,  380. 

Newton,  70. 

Neuro-toxin,  323. 

Nigua,  490. 

Niobrara  Cretaceous,  169, 186. 

Nothosaurs,  90. 

Nubia,  403. 

Nubian  deserts,  293. 

Nutritional  disturbance,  268. 

Obolus,  54. 

Odontoblast,  242. 

Oil.  use  of  boiling,  360. 

Oligocene,  67,  105,  270,  287,  329,  334,  343. 
Oliver,  F.  W.,  105. 

Onchus,  297. 

Onychaster  flexibilis,  284,  308. 

Oochytriuni,  105. 

Oogonia,  105. 

Opabinia,  105. 

Opabinia  regalis,  50. 

Ophiacodon  mirus,  136. 

Opisthotonos,  323-340. 

Opisthotonos  in  molluscs,  323. 

Orang,  542. 

Ordovician,  286. 

Oreodonts,  260. 

Osborn,  H.  F.,  70,  289,  327,  342,  354. 
Osteitis,  alveolar,  221. 

Osteodentine,  232. 

Osteohypertrophy,  118,  140,  282. 

Osteoid  tissue,  118,  173,  293. 

Osteoma,  170,  171,  212,  493,  504. 
Osteomalacia,  252,  268,  493. 


Osteomyelitis,  130,  138,  150,  218,  244,  272, 
278,  303,  512. 

Osteoperiostitis,  in  mosasaur,  172,  202. 
Osteophytes,  170,  406. 

Osteoporosis,  420,  436. 
in  ancient  Egj^jt,  398. 
in  ancient  Peru,  538. 

Osteosarcoma,  62,  402,  434. 

Osteosclerosis,  118,  140. 

Owen,  Sir  Richard,  68,  129,  188. 

Ox,  wUd,  349. 

Pachyostosis,  69,  90,  251. 

Paget’s  disease,  348,  448. 

Palaeomyces,  105. 

Paleobotany,  99-114. 

Paleolithic  man,  348,  363. 

Paleolithic  period.  Pathology  during,  348. 
Paleontology,  25. 

Paleopathology,  definition  of,  21. 
importance  of,  22,  28. 

Ruffer’s  methods  in,  393. 
Paleophytopathology,  29,  99, 

Paleospinax  priscus,  336. 

Paleozoic,  44,  99. 

Palm  wood,  105. 

Pansinusitis,  493,  512. 

Pantolambda,  174. 

Parasitism,  30,  96,  101,  283,  287,  308-310. 
origin  of,  283. 

geological  evidences  of,  96,  1 10. 

Parker,  Charles,  161. 

Pathologj',  [Mesozoic,  247,  262. 

Paleozoic,  110. 

Pebrine,  35. 

Pellets,  101. 

Pelycopods,  287. 

Pelycosauria,  325. 

Perenosporites  antiquarius,  104. 

Periderm,  102. 

Periodontitis,  352,  405. 

Permian,  116,  136,  146,  244,  303,  330. 
Peronosporoides  palmi,  105. 

Peru,  ancient  disease  of,  357. 

Pestalozzites  sabalana,  104. 

Pezophaps  solitaria,  70. 

Peytonia  nathorsti,  56. 

Phagocytosis,  35,  387. 

Pharaoh  of  Exodus,  392. 

Pharmical  knowledge  of  North  .\merican 
Indians,  455. 

Phenacodus,  125,  223. 


INDEX 


565 


Phycomycetes,  104. 

Physeter  macrocephalus,  228. 
Phytopathology,  99. 

Phjrtosauria,  121. 

- Pigs,  Oligocene,  126. 

Phtdown  skull,  348. 

Pithecanthropus  erectus,  287,  347,  382. 
Pizarro,  486. 

Plants,  fossil,  99. 

Platecarpus  coryphaeus,  169,  171,  216,  262. 
Platyceras,  110,  283,  310. 

Platycnenia,  493. 

Platygonus,  253,  276. 

Platystrophia,  31. 

Pleistocene,  duration  of,  78. 

pathology  of,  66,  176,  274,  288,  344. 
Plesiosaurs,  325,  330. 

Plesiosaurus  macrocephalus,  328,  336. 
Pleurocanthus,  297. 

Pleurodictyum  problematicum,  310. 
Pleurothotonos,  323,  327. 

Pliocene  camel,  spondylitis  deformans  in, 
175. 

Plioplatecarpus  marshi,  70. 

Poisons,  cerebro-spinal,  323. 

Poliomyelitis,  stela  showing,  408,  426. 
Poncet,  397,  410. 

Ponderosa,  31. 

Ponzi,  G.,  108. 

Potonie,  H.,  105. 

Pott’s  disease,  402,  422,  452. 

Pott’s  disease,  during  Neolithic,  350,  378. 
Pre-Columbian  diseases,  23,  452. 

Prehistoric,  definition  of,  22,  350. 

Pressure  atrophy,  409,  438. 

Primates,  fossil,  354. 

Pristiophorus  suevicus,  225. 

Prolapsus  of  viscera,  400,  432. 
Proliopithecus,  287. 

Proneusticosaurus,  69,  252. 

Pseudarthrosis,  125,  126,  148,  156. 
Pseudo-parasitism,  286. 

Psoas  abscess,  402,  424. 

Pterodactyls,  184,  325. 

Pterodactylus  longirostris,  326. 
Pterodactylus  micronyx,  338. 

Ptycholepis  marshi,  329. 

Puberty,  397. 

Puccineae,  105. 

Pulp  stones,  236. 

Pycnodonts,  225. 

Pyorrhea,  221,  238,  432. 


Pythium,  35. 

Quenstedt,  F.  A.,  108. 

Quichua,  486. 

Radioactive  substances,  78. 

Rafinesquina  alternata,  44. 

Ramses  II,  392. 

Rancho  la  Brea,  128,  260,  272. 

Rathbun,  Mary  J.,  33,  288. 

Raymond,  Paul,  347,  353. 

Recuperation,  33. 

Red  hand,  363. 

Regeneration,  32. 

Relation  of  early  races  of  man,  370. 
Renault,  B.,  30,  97,  105,  222,  244,  291,  294. 
Renier,  A.,  102. 

Resins,  101. 

Rhachitis,  70,  397,  410,  450. 

Rhinoceros,  223,  243,  250,  258,  270. 

Rickets,  70,  397,  410,  450. 

Riggs,  E.  S.,  68,  123,  176,  247,  258. 
Rinderpest,  343. 

Rondelle,  358,  384. 

Rosellinites,  105. 

Roux,  Canals  of,  292. 

Ruffer,  Sir  Marc  Armand,  21,  92,  174,  347, 
387,  388,  414. 

Saber  tooth  cat,  128,  176,  218,  258. 
Saccardo,  104. 

Sand  flea,  490. 

Sandwith,  F.  M.,  389. 

Scalp  incisions,  358,  372. 

Scapula,  aberrant  foramen  in,  192. 
Scarification,  362,  376. 

Schaafhausen,  348. 

Schenk,  112. 

Schistosomiasis,  396. 

Schistosoma  haematobia,  397. 

Schlosser,  Max,  68,  254,  450. 

Schmerling,  P.  C.,  64,  91,  398. 

Schuchert,  Charles,  32. 

Schwalbe,  Gustav,  348. 

Sclerosis,  458. 

Sclerotites  brandonianus,  105. 

Scoliosis,  352. 

Scott,  W.  B.,  128. 

Seitz,  A.  L.  L.,  119,  166,  293. 

Senescence,  36,  44. 

Senility,  36. 

Sequestrae,  80,  350. 


566 


PA  LEOPA  T HO  LOG  Y 


Seward,  A.  V.,  101. 

Shamanism,  357,  361,  490. 

Shark,  fossil,  336. 

Shattock,  392. 

Shurafa,  409,  438. 

Sigillaria,  108. 

Silhouettes  of  hands,  363,  374. 

Silicification,  294. 

Sincipital  T.,  358,  502. 

Sinus,  necrotic,  138,  158,  246. 

Sinuses,  243. 

Skull  fracture,  344. 

Sloth,  giant,  70,  128. 

Sloth,  Pleistocene,  fracture  in,  70. 

Sloup,  65. 

Small-pox,  earliest  evidence  of,  395,  430. 
Smilodon,  176,  218,  253,  258. 

Smith,  G.  EUiot,  167,  392,  396,  440. 

Smith,  Worthington,  105. 

Snail  shells,  110,  283. 

Snake  creek  beds,  175,  282. 

Soemmering,  Samuel  Thomas  von,  62,  326. 
Solenhofen  slates,  324. 

Sollas,  W.  J.,  374. 

Senders,  292. 

Sosuska,  70. 

Spear  point  injury,  474. 

Sphaerospermum,  105. 

Spine,  Permian,  116,  244. 

Spines,  significance  of,  26. 

fracture  in,  116. 

Splints  of  bark,  440,  454,  460. 

Spondylitis  deforman,  90,  128,  164,  173,  182, 
218,  220,  353,  403,  484. 

Sponges,  30,  110,  287. 

Springer,  Frank,  33,  44. 

Staasfeld,  291. 

Starfish,  284. 

Stegosaurus,  246. 

Stems,  parasitized  crinoid,  310. 

Stenomylus,  325,  334,  338. 

Stone  Age,  injuries  during  the,  349,  374,  380. 
Stopes,  M.  C.,  101. 

Strabops,  342. 

Stramonium,  455. 

Stromer  von  Reichenbach,  E.,  223. 
Strotocrinus  regalis,  310. 

Struthiomimus  altus,  327,  331,  338. 
Str3'chnine,  323. 

Sudhoff,  Karl,  24,  360. 

Surgery,  beginnings  of,  352,  426,  440. 
during  Neolithic,  352,  358. 


North-American  Indians,  453. 

Peruvian,  359,  494. 
primitive,  360,  386. 

Sutton,  J.  Bland,  171. 

Swabia,  326. 

Symbiosis,  283,  284,  286. 

Symbos  cavifrons,  129,  160. 

Syphilis,  352,  355,  388,  411,  448. 

S>-philis,  congenital,  354. 

Tait,  78. 

Talipes  equinus,  408. 

Tamayo,  M.  O.,  489. 

Tarahumare  Indians,  455. 

Tattooing,  364. 

Taxocrinus  colletti,  33. 

Taxodium,  102,  107. 

Teeth,  pathology  of,  444,  446,  492. 

Tegmen  of  crinoid,  310. 

Telentospora  milloti,  105. 

Teleosaur,  328. 

Terataspis,  44. 

Teratology,  107. 

Tertiary,  106,  343. 

Thaumatosaurus  victor,  331. 

Theoretical  aspects  of  Paleopathology,  287. 
Thoma,  406. 

Thread-mould,  225,  291,  293. 

Tibia,  380,  466. 

Tiger,  saber-tooth,  128,  173,  176,  218,  258. 
Titanotherium  robustum,  70, 125, 148. 
Todeskampf,  330. 

Tomistoma  dowsoni,  174. 

Trabeculae,  117. 

Trachodon  annectans,  192,  254. 
Traumatisms  32,  88,  154,  253. 

Trephining,  347,  368,  455. 

Trephining,  prehistoric,  352,  356,  358,  368, 
384. 

Incan,  490,  524,  528. 

Eg)q)tian,  409. 

Triassic,  324,  329,  341. 

Triepel,  292. 

Trilobites,  36,  52,  99,  343. 

Triceratops,  69,  88,  134,  245. 

Triceratops  serratus,  69,  124,  160. 

Trinil,  347. 

Troxell,  E.  L.,  69. 

Trypanosoma  brucei,  343. 

Tr3’panosomiasis,  343,  366. 

Tsetse  flies,  343,  378. 

Tubercle  of  Carabelli,  354,  493. 


INDEX 


567 


Tuberculosis,  350,  353,  402. 

Tuberculum  anomalus,  354. 

Tumor,  402,  434,  453. 

Tusk  elephant,  odontoma  in,  242. 

Twenhofel,  W.  H.,  44. 

Tyrannosaurus,  165. 

Ulna  of  Neanderthal  man,  348,  382. 
Ulodendron,  102,  112. 

Urinary  schistosomiasis,  397. 

Ursus  spelaeus,  62,  80,  86. 

Uta,  489,  512,  530. 

Van  Tieghem,  P.,  30,  103,  291. 

Variant  of  Sincipital  T.,  359,  502. 

Variola,  395. 

Vendrest,  Neolithic  burials  at,  358. 

Venus  rileyi,  31,  58,  60. 

Venus  tridacnoides,  31,  58,  60. 

Verneau,  R.,  360. 

Verruga  Peruviana,  488. 

Vertebral  tuberculosis,  350,  378,  402,  422, 
472. 

Vesical  calculus,  396. 

Vioa,  287. 

Virchow,  Rudolf,  65,  66,  84,  225,  353,  374, 
382. 

Volz,  W.,  68. 


Wagner,  326. 

Walcott,  C.  D.,  11,  42,  103,  290,  312. 
Walther,  Ph.  von,  63,  84,  91. 

Waptia  fieldensis,  50. 

Watson,  D.  M.  S.,  102. 

Wed],  canals  of,  225,  292. 

Weiss,  F.  E.,  106. 

Whale,  cachelot,  236,  242. 

Wheeler,  W.  M.',  287. 

White,  D.,  104. 

Whitford,  A.  C.,  105. 

Whitney,  W.  F.,  452. 

Wieland,  G.  R.,  69,  88. 

Williamson,  W.  C.,  105,  107. 

Williston,  S.  W.,  116,  136,  169,  184,  188, 
325. 

Wilson,  Thomas,  349. 

Wiman,  C.,  329. 

Xylophagus  arthropod,  107. 

Xyne  grex,  328. 

Yale  University,  11,  125,  127,  162,  493. 

Zittel,  Carl  Alfred  von,  84. 

Zygosporites,  105. 


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